Ghana becomes second country to receive COVID vaccine doses through COVAX scheme
— 1 minute read — By Ed Bazeley
On 24th February, the World Health Organisation confirmed that Ghana became the second country worldwide to receive COVID vaccines as part of the international COVAX scheme.
COVAX is an initiative led by the vaccine alliance Gavi, the WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) in an effort to ensure that COVID vaccines will be fairly distributed to countries who may have otherwise gone without.
The WHO enforced the importance of evenly distributing the vaccine and said on their website: “Nobody wins the race [against COVID] until everybody wins.”
So far, the West African country has recorded over 84,000 cases of coronavirus and confirmed at least 600 COVID-related deaths, having endured its biggest spike in both cases and deaths last month. As one of the fifteen countries most affected by malaria, any spikes in the country’s COVID-19 epidemic would present a serious challenge for its health sector.
Health workers, over 60s, those with underlying health conditions and senior officials will be prioritised as Ghana vaccinates its population.
On 1st March, Cote d’Ivoire joined Ghana in receiving their COVAX supply, becoming the second African country to do so in the space of a week.
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