First COVID-19 Vaccines Administered to Health Workers in Cote D’Ivoire

With all the recent COVAX developments, our favorite headline by far was the start of ‘history-making COVAX vaccination drives’ today.

The administration of the COVID-19 vaccines began for health workers in Côte d’Ivoire, following a ceremony where Patrick Achie, Chief of Staff to the President was first to receive a dose. This marked the launch of the vaccination campaign just three days after receiving the delivery of 504,000 doses.

Dr. Yvan Agbassi goes through a brief health assessment before he gets his shot.

Dr. Yvan Agbassi, a VillageReach staff member, who is a pharmacist based in Abidjan was among the roughly one hundred health workers who also received the first jabs in the country.

Dr. Yvan Agbassi is the first Africa-based VillageReach staff member to receive a vaccine.

The start of the vaccination campaign took place at Abidjan Parc des Sports, an indoor sports arena that houses about 3,500 people. The arena will continue to be used as a vaccination center since it can manage a large number of people, especially given the future needs of vaccinating such a broad segment of the population.

We expect more good news for health workers over the coming days.