Rwanda receives first Pfizer vaccines in Africa under COVAX facility

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.

UPDATE: The first consignment of #Covid19 vaccines received in Kigali this morning comprises 240,000 AstraZeneca doses, with 102,960 more Pfizer doses expected in the country later today.

Both batches are through the Covax facility.

????: @MugwizaO /TNT pic.twitter.com/PJq1FkE2oH

— The New Times (Rwanda) (@NewTimesRwanda) March 3, 2021

Rwanda???????? just received first batch of 240,000 #COVID19 Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines through #COVAX! Another batch of vaccines expected later today.

This is part of groundbreaking efforts by COVAX to deliver close to 2 billion COVID-19 vaccines globally in 2021. #VaccinEquity ???????? pic.twitter.com/Igl76aMN98

— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) March 3, 2021