The country will access the benefit along with Bolivia and two other South American nations. The Bolivian president confirmed that his country will receive the first doses in February.
Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and El Salvador will be the first countries to receive the vaccine against COVID-19, free of charge and under the COVAX mechanism, according to the United Nations on Saturday.
The body’s Information Center in Bolivia said in a statement that the three South American and Central American nations were selected to be in the first round of distribution under the mechanism.
The letter stated that Bolivia will receive “almost one million vaccines as a donation, 92.430 doses of Pfizer and 900,000 doses of AstraZeneca,” but does not detail how many doses have been initially allocated to the other three nations.
“This will be the first batch the country will receive until the number of doses is completed to cover 20% of the Bolivian population,” the organization said as it celebrated the good news for Bolivians.
According to him, the COVAX mechanism is a global alliance for the acquisition and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, led by the Coalition for Innovation in Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI), Gavi and the Pan American Health Organization. (PAHO) / World Health Organization.
The alliance works in partnership with vaccine manufacturers, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, civil society organizations, among others.
According to the report by the United Nations Information Center in Bolivia, the COVAX mechanism offered countries on January 6 the opportunity to express their interest in accessing a limited initial volume of a ultra-cold chain vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech and Bolivia was among the first to submit its proposal along with 72 other proponents.
Bolivia will receive through COVAX a comprehensive technical and financial cooperation for its Extended Immunization Program (PAI), in order to strengthen the cold chain required for the management of the vaccine; they will train their health personnel in their use and maintenance; as well as in information, communication and social mobilization actions to promote the importance of the vaccine.
Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora, in a message addressed to the population, has reported that the first batch of vaccines against COVID-19 through the COVAX mechanism will be received in February.
“Today I can tell you that we have received the response to the work done, which has been hugely positive. In February we will receive almost a million vaccines,” he said.
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