The Africa Union on Monday handed over the first shipment of 177,600 of Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccines doses.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that to ensure widespread access to COVID-19 vaccines across Africa, the AU launched the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust in November 2020.
Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of Board of African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK),while handing the vaccines to the Presidential Steering Committee(PSC), on Monday in Abuja, said “that the vaccine acquisition by AVAT was a unique milestone for the African continent.
NAN reports that the West African nation is one of the earliest to benefit from a supply deal agreed in March, 2021 to procure 220 million doses for the continent, with the potential to order another 180 million.
The single dose of COVID-19 vaccine made by J&J is highly effective in preventing severe illness and death from the Delta and Beta variants of the coronavirus, data from a clinical trial in South Africa suggest.