The Government of France has donated The Gambia with a total of Thirty-Eight Thousand Four Hundred (38,400) doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine.
A press release from the government of The Gambia has informed that “through the support from the COVAX Facility, the vaccine will be arriving in the country on Sunday 22nd August 2021”.
The consignment will be received at the Banjul International Airport by officials of the Ministry of Health, other Government Officials, the French Embassy in The Gambia, and Development Partners.
The Gambia began its vaccine drive in March this year after the country received its first consignment of 36,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine under COVAX. But three months on, the AstraZeneca jab went out of stock in the country.
As of June 25th, 2021, 31,254 and 12,303 people had received the 1st and 2nd doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, respectively, bringing the total number to 43,557 people.
Gambian Health authorities believe that “This donation from the Government of France will significantly close the gap of achieving the country’s COVID-19 vaccination target”.
The Ministry of Health of The Gambia is now calling on those who have not received their second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine to “Immediately visit the vaccination centers starting Monday 23rd August to get their full AstraZeneca Vaccine doses“.
The Government of the Gambia has also extended “sincere thanks to the Government of France, particularly the French Embassy in The Gambia, for their generous contribution in providing these lifesaving vaccines to the people of The Gambia.”
“Also, sincere thanks and appreciation is extended to our esteem partners, WHO, UNICEF, GAVI, CEPI, and WB for the continued technical and financial support towards the country’s COVID-19 response,” the press release reads.
