Somalia receives first doses of Covid-19 vaccine

Reuters

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Somalia has received 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine under the Covax scheme, the first batch the country has received.

People at highest risk of contracting the virus will be the first to receive vaccines - including frontline workers, the elderly, and those with chronic health conditions - the health ministry says.

Official Press Release: @MoH_Somalia has received today its first batch of COVAX vaccine which will be administered to frontline workers. @MoH_Somalia would like to thank @gavi and all UN Agencies who facilitated with this process.@TheVillaSomalia @MohamedHRoble @UNSomalia pic.twitter.com/MxVsil0BAb
— Ministry of Health- Somalia (@MoH_Somalia) March 15, 2021

The country eventually expects to receive a total of 1.2 million doses to vaccinate at least 20% of its population from the Covax facility.

The vaccine arrives at a time when the country is experiencing a new wave of the pandemic.

Somalia has reported 9,190 cases of coronavirus infections and 367 deaths, according to the latest tally by Johns Hopkins University.

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