First COVID-19 COVAX vaccine shipment arrives in Jordan

On 12 March, Jordan received the first shipment of 144,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/SK Bioscience COVID-19 vaccine from COVAX Facility at Queen Alia International Airport, in Amman.

COVAX is a global facility representing partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO), Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) working on the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. It includes 190 countries with population of more than 7 billion people and ensures fair and equal access to COVID-19 vaccines supplied through UNICEF. The European Union (EU), WHO and UNICEF are supporting the Government of Jordan’s national vaccination campaign

A total of €8 million has been made available by the EU to support the Ministry of Health’s purchase of COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX Facility through its “Jordan Health Programme for Syrian Refugees and Vulnerable Jordanians,” implemented by the WHO and funded by the Madad Fund. A second shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX Facility is expected to arrive in Jordan in April.

“We now see the results of partnership with the COVAX Facility where Jordan participates as a fully self-financing country. This supply is very timely to support our efforts to accelerate the COVID-19 national immunization campaign. We will continue offering the COVID-19 vaccines to the most vulnerable populations” said Nathir Obeidat, Minister of Health.

EU Ambassador to Jordan Maria Hadjitheodosiou said: “the European Union has been leading international efforts to ensure vaccine equity and low- and middle-income countries. Through Team Europe’s €2.2 billion contribution to the COVAX Facility, we aim to ensure that all our partners have access to safe and effective vaccines. We can only add our voice to that of the Jordanian government in encouraging people to register on the Ministry of Health’s platform to receive the vaccine, as they are steadily becoming available.”

Dr Maria Cristina Profili, WHO Representative to Jordan said: “The COVID-19 vaccines are a key tool in bringing COVID-19 pandemic under control. As key COVAX partner, WHO is providing full support to the Ministry of Health in planning, implementation, and monitoring of the national immunization campaign”.

“One year since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, each delivery of vaccines brings hope for recovery and gets us one step closer to a return to normality for millions of children in Jordan. UNICEF is proud to support the Ministry of Health and our partners to be part of this equitable global distribution of vaccines,” said Tanya Chapuisat, Representative, UNICEF Jordan.