Last checked at 
By Christian Akorlie
ACCRA, March 2 (Reuters) - Ghana began its coronavirus
vaccination drive on Tuesday with 600,000 AstraZeneca
doses it received from the global COVAX vaccine-sharing facility
aimed at providing shots to developing nations to help combat
the COVID-19 pandemic.
People lined up for shots outside the regional hospital in
the capital, Accra, for a first phase of vaccinations which will
prioritise frontline health workers and others at high risk.
"I feel so good about taking the vaccine. It will protect me
from contracting the virus from patients," said Bernice
Anaglatey, 42, who works in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at
Accra's Ridge Hospital as she queued for her shot.
While western nations have secured millions of doses and
launched mass vaccination drives, most poorer countries do not
yet have access to any, raising concerns about equitable
distribution of vaccines to fight the pandemic.
Ghana was the first country to receive vaccines as part of
the World Health Organization's COVAX sharing scheme aimed at
pooling funds from wealthier nations and non-profits to deliver
doses equitably around the world.
COVAX aims to deliver over 1.3 billion vaccine doses to over
90 low- and middle-income countries by the end of the year,
covering up to 20% of their populations.
Only a handful of other African countries have started
inoculations, with doses purchased bilaterally or received as
donations.
Ghana's neighbour Ivory Coast launched its COVID-19
inoculation drive on Monday with doses from COVAX.
Vaccine deliveries through the COVAX scheme are expected to
accelerate this week with 11 million doses of the
AstraZeneca-Oxford and Pfizer-BioNTech
vaccines delivered to countries, some in Africa
including Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo and his wife received the
vaccine on Monday in an effort to boost public confidence ahead
of the campaign, amid rumours and scepticism about vaccines. But
scepticism remained.
"The stories I heard about the vaccine have put fear in me,"
said Isaac Armah, a 28-year-old trader. "I'll wait for about two
months to see the effects of the vaccine on the early
recipients, then I'll make up my mind."
Coronavirus infections in Ghana have surpassed 84,000 and
more than 600 people have died, according to health ministry
data.
(Reporting by Christian Akorlie, Writing by Nellie Peyton;
Editing by Bate Felix and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
