Last checked at 
* Ivory Coast vaccination to focus on Abidjan first
* Targets 3% of population in first phase
* Ghana's president takes first jab ahead of Tuesday launch
* COVAX scheme to deliver 11 mln doses in the next week
*
(Adds WHO quote, details about new deliveries)
By Loucoumane Coulibaly
ABIDJAN, March 1 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast launched the
world's first COVID-19 inoculation drive on Monday with doses
imported from the COVAX sharing facility, a milestone in the
race to extend vaccine access to poorer countries.
Patrick Achi, the secretary-general at the presidency, was
the first to be vaccinated at a sports complex in the commercial
capital Abidjan. Onlookers 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 in the 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 over 1.3 billion doses to 92 low- and middle-income
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.
"This is a day many of us have been dreaming of and working
for more than 12 months," said WHO Director-General Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
In the next week, COVAX expects to deliver 11 million doses
of the AstraZeneca/Oxford and Pfizer/BioNTech
vaccines, it said in a statement.
The allocation of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine to be
delivered to participating countries between now and the end of
May is expected on Tuesday, it added.
'WHY BE SCARED?'
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 and Stephanie
Nebehay in Geneva
Writing by Aaron Ross
Editing by Bate Felix, Bernadette Baum and Giles Elgood)
