In an unprecedented development, Ghana has received a historic first shipment of 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility, ahead of Nigeria.
Ghana is the first country to receive the COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX Facility, an arrangement by the World Health Organisation, Gavi, the Vaccine Initiative and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to provide vaccines for low and middle-income countries.
A joint statement by the UNICEF representative in Ghana, Anne-Claire Dufay, and the World Health Organisation, WHO, representative to Ghana, Dr. Francis Kasolo, said the vaccines arrived Accra to kickstart the country’s vaccination process. The statement read: “After a year of disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 80,700 Ghanaians getting infected with the virus and over 580 lost lives, the path to recovery for the people of Ghana can finally begin.
“This is a momentous occasion, as the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines into Ghana is critical in bringing the pandemic to an end. The only way out of this crisis is to ensure that vaccinations are available for all.
“We thank all partners that are supporting the COVAX facility to deliver safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to all countries quickly and fairly.
“These 600,000 COVAX vaccines are part of an initial tranche of deliveries of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine licensed to the Serum Institute of India, which represent part of the first wave of COVID vaccines headed to several low and middle-income countries.

No big deal.