The first consignment of COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine, including 128,640 doses, donated by the Government of Sweden, arrived in Dushanbe on August 9.
AstraZeneca has become a household name, but its COVID-19 vaccine has been rebranded. The vaccine has now been officially renamed "Vaxzevria" and approved by Europe's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency.
As part of a pledge to deliver at least three million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, the first doses donated by Sweden were delivered to Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan in late July.
According to information posted on the website of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Per Olsson Fridh, Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden noted that Sweden supported a robust multilateral response to the COVID-19 pandemic through COVAX. “We have provided over USD 280 million, making Sweden the largest contributor to COVAX per capita,” Mr. Per Olsson Fridh
Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance said that the Government of Sweden was one of the original six donors to Gavi, and has steadily increased its support to global vaccination over the past 20 years. “In addition to its already-substantial funding of COVAX, Sweden’s dose donations will help COVAX reach some of those in urgent need of protection against COVID-19,” he added.
