Ethiopia to Receive First COVID-19 Vaccine Sunday

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia is set to receive COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility with some 2.2 million Oxford-AstraZeneca doses expected to arrive in Addis Ababa on Sunday.

In a twitte Friday,  Minister of Health, Dr. Lia Tadesse, said she was “very happy to announce Ethiopia will receive the first 2.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX facility on Sunday March 7, 2021”.

“Vaccination for prioritized population groups will be launched soon starting from healthworkers,” the minister added.

COVAX is co-led by the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the WHO. It aims to accelerate the development and production of COVID-19 vaccines, and guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

As of Friday evening, Ethiopia has confirmed 164, 073 COVID-19 infections and 2, 404 related deaths, according to the Ministry.