Ethiopia Recieves Astra Zeneca COVID 19 Vaccine

 Ethiopia on Sunday received 2.184 million doses of the Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine via the COVAX Facility.

The Astra Zeneca vaccines licensed and manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII), were delivered by Ethiopian Airlines at Bole International Airport this morning. On hand to receive the shipment were Honourable Dr Lia Tadesse, Minister of Health, Ms Yasmin Wohabrebbi, State Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation, the WHO Representative Dr Boureima Hama Sambo, UNICEF Representative Ms Adele Khodr and development partners.

“We’re very pleased that Ethiopia is receiving its first COVAX vaccine doses,” said Charlie Whetham, Regional Head, Asia Pacific and Anglophone Africa at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “Thanks to the work of the Government of Ethiopia and of the COVAX partners, and with the support of our donors, we’re delivering on our promise to begin vaccinating vulnerable populations around the world.”

“The arrival of the vaccines in Addis Ababa is a major milestone, a turn of the tides for the better, in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the coordinated global action for equitable vaccine distribution,” Dr Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO Representative in Ethiopia, said. “WHO will continue to work with the Government of Ethiopia and global partners to ensure that Ethiopia receives, deploys and administers adequate quantities of COVID-19 vaccines to the Ethiopian people, because as WHO has repeatedly said, no one is safe until everyone is safe.”

This is among the first shipments to countries in the WHO African Region by the COVAX Facility in its unprecedented effort to deliver at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021.

“With these vaccines, we move a step closer to normalizing life for the millions of children and their families that have been impacted by this pandemic in ways never seen in living memory,” said UNICEF Representative Adele Khodr. “We will work with the Government of Ethiopia and partners to ensure that everyone earmarked for vaccination is reached and that no deserving individual is left behind.”

This shipment contains 2,184,000 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccines. It is the first of several shipments that will be delivered to Ethiopia in accordance with global vaccine availability and the Ethiopia National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP). Vaccinations will commence in the next few days for the first phase priority groups.

Honorable Health Minister, Dr Lia Tadesse, expressed the Ethiopian Government’s appreciation of the COVAX Facility, vaccine manufacturers and global development partners. “What seemed unattainable a few months ago is now in our hands and, with it, the assurance of protecting our people, and a hope that we can beat the pandemic through cascaded and equitable vaccination of the population alongside other public health measures,” she said. “Ethiopia is proud to have contributed to this global effort representing the African Region.”

The vaccines were produced within a year of the WHO Director-General’s declaration of the novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). This is the first time in history that vaccines were produced in such a short time, a result of the tremendous efforts in vaccine research, development and manufacture.

The arrival of the vaccines in Ethiopia was made possible through the COVAX Facility with the generous support of partners that spared no efforts or resources to ensure the timely and equitable distribution of vaccines across the globe.