Ivory Coast Buys 1 Million AstraZeneca Doses From Europe

(Bloomberg) -- Ivory Coast ordered one million doses of the AstraZeneca Plc vaccines outside of the World Health Organization-backed Covax program to ramp up its inoculation drive.

The shots are expected to arrive later this month, according to a statement following a meeting of the national security council and the health ministry.

The vaccines have been ordered from Europe and not the Serum Institute of India, the health ministry said. The Indian company has been dogged by setbacks, from a ban on exports to a factory fire, that have hampered its ability to fill orders.

The West African nation with a population of almost 26 million has administered 757,123 doses as of June 29, with 76,603 people receiving the full course.

Last month, it acquired 100,620 doses of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine from the Covax initiative and 100,000 doses of both the Sinopharm and AstraZeneca shots as a donation from neighboring Mali.

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