COVID-19 Vaccine Deliveries To African Nations Pick Up Speed

By jsalinas 03/03/2021212 views

The first arrival of COVID-19 vaccines to Kenya is offloaded from a Qatar Airways flight at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, early Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Around 1.02 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India arrived at the airport as part of the COVAX facility, according to the Ministry of Health. (AP Photo)

(AP) — More African countries are receiving the long-awaited first deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines. Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal and Lesotho are benefiting from the global COVAX initiative that aims to ensure doses for the world’s low-and middle-income nations.

African and other health officials have been frustrated with the sight of a handful of rich countries rolling out vaccines after snapping up large amounts for themselves.

The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that “we will be known as the continent of COVID” if Africa doesn’t quickly reach its target of vaccinating 60% of its population of 1.3 billion people.