WHO's COVAX program delivers 1st COVID-19 vaccines

Ghana gets vaccine — (Image credit: Nipah Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)

COVAX, the World Health Organization program to equitably distribute COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income countries, delivered 600,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Ghana on Wednesday. It is the first batch of what COVAX hopes will be 2 billion doses for 92 countries by the end of 2021, and UNICEF and the WHO jointly described the delivery as a "momentous occasion" in the global fight against COVID-19.

Ghana, a West African nation of 30 million people, said Tuesday that it has recorded 81,245 COVID-19 cases and 584 deaths, though the actual number is believed to be higher. The country will start its vaccination campaign on March 2, starting with health care workers, people 60 and older, Ghanaians with underlying health issues, and frontline government officials and their staff.

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.