(Updates with start of vaccination)
By Loucoumane Coulibaly
ABIDJAN, March 1 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast launched the
world's first COVID-19 inoculation drive with doses from the
COVAX sharing facility on Monday, a milestone in the race to
expand vaccine access to low- and middle-income countries.
Patrick Achi, the secretary-general at the presidency, was
the first to be vaccinated at a sports complex in the commercial
capital Abidjan. Onloookers cheered as a health worker in a
white coat and pink scrubs delivered the injection.
Medical personnel, teachers and security forces members were
also being vaccinated as part of a first phase of the campaign
targeting 3% of the population.
"The vaccines offer us the hope of returning to normal in
the coming months," Achi said.
Ivory Coast has recorded 36,109 infections and 192
coronavirus-related deaths.
COVAX, which is led by the GAVI vaccines alliance along with
the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, aims to
deliver nearly 2 billion doses to over 90 countries, covering up
to 20% of their populations.
The initiative hopes to level a playing field that has seen
wealthier nations vaccinate millions while comparatively few
have received shots in poorer parts of the world. Only a handful
of African countries have begun inoculating their citizens with
vaccines purchased bilaterally or received as donations.
Even with free doses from COVAX, many poorer countries will
struggle to reach herd immunity any time soon and must find
financing for distribution and community outreach.
Ivory Coast received 504,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford
vaccine from COVAX on Friday. After the first phase, it
plans to expand access to people over 50, those with chronic
diseases and travellers.
Over a hundred people lined up early on Monday outside the
complex in Abidjan's Treichville neighbourhood to receive their
first shot.
"Why be scared?" asked David Elloh, a teacher, after being
vaccinated. "It's a vaccine like any other. I am relieved."
Africa has reported relatively few COVID-19 deaths compared
to other continents, but the death toll has been rising fast as
a second wave of infections overwhelms hospitals.
Ivory Coast's neighbour Ghana, which last week became the
first country to receive a delivery of vaccines from COVAX,
plans to officially begin its vaccination campaign on Tuesday.
On Monday, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and his wife
received the vaccine at a military hospital in an effort to
boost public confidence ahead of the campaign.
"It is important that I set the example that this vaccine is
safe by being the first to have it," Akufo-Addo said.
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly and Ange Aboa in Abidjan
Additional reporting by Christian Akorlie in Accra
Writing by Aaron Ross
Editing by Bate Felix, Giles Elgood and Bernadette Baum)