Ethiopia receives 2.2m doses of Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccines 

Addis Ababa, March 7, 2021 (FBC) – Ethiopia has received 2.2 million doses of Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccines under the global COVAX scheme.

Senior government officials, including Minister of Health,  Dr Lia Tadesse, were at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport this morning  to receive  the vaccines.

The Ministry of Health on Friday said it was making preparation to launch a vaccination program soon for prioritized population groups.

Ethiopia recently announced  plan to vaccinate 20% of its population against the pandemic by the end of 2021.

According to the Ministry, the number of new COVID-19 infections and deaths from the virus is increasing rapidly in the country.

The country reported over 8,000 new cases and 123 deaths in the past 10 days alone. The spreading rate of the virus increased from 10% in the past to 13%.

Ethiopia has so far reported 165, 029 COVID-19 cases, with 137, 785 recoveries and 2,420 deaths.