Africa-Press – Liberia. The government of Liberia has received a new shipment of 96,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, giving hope to over 75,000 Liberians who are waiting for their second shot. France donated the vaccines through the COVAX facility in collaboration with the European Union.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Hughes Nagy, Acting Head of Mission, Embassy of France congratulated the government of Liberia and all the COVAX partners for their involvement in the fight against this pandemic and for universal access to vaccines.
“Today, France is very happy to deliver 96,000 doses of vaccine to Liberia to continue its vaccination campaign. These donations to COVAX are part of the more global effort of the Europe team in favor of this mechanism aimed at ensuring a concrete vaccine solidarity.” Nagy said.
He added that France is working, and will continue to work, together with Liberia to ensure that safe and effective vaccines are widely available throughout the country.
“The challenge is to address vaccine hesitancy in the population and to work hard in convincing the public to get vaccinated as one of the surest and fastest way out of this pandemic,” Nagy added.
Commending the gesture of the French government, the Acting WHO Representative in Liberia Dr. Zabulon Yoti, praised the government of Liberia for the level of leadership demonstrated in the national COVID-19 response efforts.
“Our targets are to vaccinate at least 10 percent of the population of every country by September, at least 40 percent by the end of the year, and 70 percent globally by the middle of next year. These are the critical milestones we must reach together to reduce deaths and disruption due to the pandemic” Dr. Yoti said.
Dr. Yoti reminded the public that being vaccinated does not mean quitting the other COVID-19 preventive measures which may put ourselves and others at risk. He said relaxing public health interventions should be done cautiously and with careful attention paid to those who remain unvaccinated.
“Vaccines quality, safety and efficacy remain one of WHO’s highest priorities, therefore, WHO will continue to work closely with national authorities to ensure that global norms and standards are developed and implemented to assess the quality, safety and efficacy of vaccines,” Dr.Yoti said.
Receiving the vaccine on behalf of the Government of Liberia, Assistant Minister for International Corporation and Economic Affairs, Sherdrick Johnson thanked the French Government for the donation and the COVAX facility for ensuring that vaccines are delivered to Liberia.
“This donation comes at a time when our people are eager to receive their second dose and we as a country are striving towards reaching the global target of vaccinating 10 % of our population by September,” Johnson said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), working in partnership with UNICEF as well as the World Bank, civil society organizations, manufacturers, and others.
