Question: Which is the first country to receive COVID-19 vaccine doses via the COVAX Facility?
(a) Ghana
(b) Chile
(c) Andorra
(d) Gambia
Answer: (a)
Related facts:
- On 24 January 2021, Ghana became the first country outside India to receive COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped via the COVAX Facility.
- The country received 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/ Oxford vaccine, from the Serum Institute of India (SII) from Pune, India to Accra,its capital.
COVAX Facility:
- Covax is an initiative to enable global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
- This will bridge the gap between poor and rich country by facilitating vaccine access to 92 low and medium-income nations.
- COVAX is one of three pillars of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which was launched in April 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission and France in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The ACT Accelerator is a framework for collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to Covid-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. It is built on three main pillars: Vaccines (COVAX), Therapeutics, Diagnostics.
- It is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), working in partnership with developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers.
- The initial aim is to have 2 billion doses available by the end of 2021.
By-Amar Mani Upadhyay
Links:
https://www.who.int/news/item/24-02-2021-covid-19-vaccine-doses-shipped-by-the-covax-facility-head-to-ghana-marking-beginning-of-global-rollout#:~:text=Today%2C%20Ghana%20became%20the%20first,and%20supply%20operation%20in%20history.
https://www.who.int/news/item/24-08-2020-172-countries-and-multiple-candidate-vaccines-engaged-in-covid-19-vaccine-global-access-facility#:~:text=The%2080%20countries%20that%20have,%2C%20Iceland%2C%20Iraq%2C%20Ireland%2C