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Africa News of Wednesday, 3 March 2021

Source: reuters.com

Rwanda receives first Pfizer vaccines in Africa under COVAX facility

First Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to Africa under COVAX go to Rwanda First Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to Africa under COVAX go to Rwanda

The first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 shots to be dispatched to Africa under the global COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme arrived in Rwanda on Wednesday, as efforts to inoculate people under the equitable vaccine platform accelerates.

The batch of 102,960 doses arrived in Kigali on Wednesday, the health ministry said, hours after a flight carrying 240,000 doses AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India also landed.

Rwanda joins countries like Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and The Gambia, all of who have received varying doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines.

Aside the COVAX platform led by the United Nations health outfit WHO, African countries are also looking to the African Union’s Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, AVATT; for more doses.

Aside these two, bilateral deals either with governments or manufacturers is also an avenue some countries are seeking to boost their supplies.