The government of Djibouti has announced that it has received the first batch of Coronavirus vaccine.
The number of arrivals in Djibouti was not immediately clear, but aid agencies said last week that Djibouti had received needles for vaccines. Djibouti is said to be giving priority to people over the age of 50, those with serious illnesses, and health workers in the country.
Djibouti is the first country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to be vaccinated.
The vaccine comes from COVAX, a project developed by the World Health Organization, the GAVI Vaccination Coalition and another organization called the pandemic Prevention Coalition.
In addition to Djibouti, East African countries have so far received 1.6 million doses of the vaccine from Kenya last week. Kenya also said it was giving priority to health workers and other frontline workers.
In Ethiopia, officials also said they were expecting the first shipment of the vaccine on Sunday. Somalia said last month that the vaccine would be available in late February or early March.
So far, however, the vaccine has not reached the country. However, governments that receive the vaccine are expected to come up with a plan to distribute the vaccine to all regions of the country.
So far the Somali government has not officially announced how it intends to distribute the vaccine, and how much each region will receive.
The Somali government is also expected to explain to the public the arrival of the vaccine and the first recipients, and the start date of vaccination for citizens.
BY OSMAN HUSSEIN ALI
