Burkina Faso to start vaccination

Burkina Faso, is one of many African countries that has still not started a COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Now it has received its first batch of vaccines under the global vaccine-sharing system COVAX on Sunday, according to the health ministry. The 115,200 AstraZeneca vaccines were transported into Ouagadougou's airport and met with a local delegation led by Charlemagne Ouedraogo, the country's health minister.

"Other immunizations are expected to come in a few weeks to supplement what we have," Ouedraogo said. According to the government, the vaccination initiative, which will begin with health workers, will inoculate approximately 15 million of the country's 21.5 million citizens.

According to WHO data, 1.5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccination have been provided worldwide, but only around 1% of them have been given to Africans. Tanzania, Burkina Faso, and Chad were among a group of African countries named by the International Rescue Committee earlier this month for failing to give a single drug despite wealthier countries buying more supplies.

The COVAX facility is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines.