A person unloading a shipment of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from a plane in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, in February 2021. Photo: Sia Kambou/AFP via Getty Images
Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Ethiopia are set to receive around 1 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in the coming days as part of the United States' global donation of roughly 80 million vaccines, the Gavi vaccine alliance said on Friday.
Why it matters: 49 African countries in total will have access to approximately 25 million doses donated by the U.S., which should help the African Union achieve its goal of vaccinating at least 60% of the African population.
- The doses will be delivered through COVAX, the WHO-backed vaccine distribution initiative.
Yes, but: More than 1 billion people live in African countries, so the U.S.-donated doses are a tiny portion of the total shots needed to vaccinate a large portion of the continent.
Go deeper: White House sends vaccines to Laos, Fiji and Costa Rica