Unicef to redistribute Congo's COVID-19 vaccines to countries including Ghana

The UN children's agency Unicef will redistribute to other countries more than a million doses of vaccines meant for the Democratic Republic of Congo so that they don't expire.

The vaccines distributed under the global Covax initiative expire on 24 June, according to Unicef.

About 1.3 million doses out of the 1.7 million doses will now go to other countries including Senegal, Comoros, Ghana and Angola.

DR Congo had delayed its rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccines, which it received in March over concerns that they could be linked to rare blood clots.

It began its vaccination campaign on 19 April but only 1,265 people have received the jab.

The vaccines donated by the Covax facility will expire on June 24, Susie Villeneuve, UNICEF’s Regional Adviser for Health Systems Strengthening, West and Central Africa, said at a conference in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, which she joined by video call.

A lack of shipment plans to support inoculation campaigns and insufficient vaccination sites have impaired access in many countries, and the short shelf-life of AstraZeneca Plc vaccines have made reallocations necessary, she said.