WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will begin shipping more than 2 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to Kenya and Ghana on Wednesday through the COVAX global distribution program, a White House official said.
The United States is sending 880,460 doses to Kenya and 1,229,620 doses to Ghana, the official said, the latest installments in a U.S. vaccine diplomacy push that has sent vaccines to dozens of countries.
The doses will be delivered through the COVAX facility, jointly run by the World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).
Africa has lagged sharply behind other regions in vaccinating its citizens, with most countries reporting single-digit vaccination rates, compared with much higher double-digit rates in advanced economies such as the United States.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Robert Birsel)
