Germany has donated a total of 1,3 million vials of the AstraZeneca vaccine to five countries that are facing a shortage: Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The German government has pledged to donate at least 30 million leftover vaccine doses to countries that are in need. This shipment marks the first round of donations, with the government announcing that 357.600 doses were sent to Sudan, 355.200 to Uzbekistan, 271.200 to Ethiopia, 213.600 to Afghanistan and 100.800 to Tajikistan.
The vaccines will be distributed through COVAX, an international aid initiative that aims to provide equal access to COVID vaccines throughout the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is a co-director of the initiative and has said that the countries receiving the vaccines have a significantly high demand and need to supply their vaccination programmes.
Of the 30 million vaccine doses that will be sent abroad, 80 percent of them will be distributed through COVAX, while the remaining 20 percent will be sent directly to the recipient countries.
Speaking in Berlin, Deputy Government Spokesperson Ulrike Demmer said that Germany is making an important contribution to the fight against the coronavirus and helping to prevent the spread of new variants of the virus.