Brunei receives COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX facility

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Brunei has received the first of a series of COVID-19 vaccine doses through the COVAX Facility, a World Health Organization-led initiative aimed at ensuring equal access to COVID-19 vaccines by various countries.

Workers arrange boxes of COVID-19 vaccines to be kept at the Palestinian Authority's storage facility in Salem village, east of the West Bank city of Nablus, March 17, 2021. A total of 60,000 doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines were delivered to the West Bank under the COVAX initiative. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua)

"This is a historic step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and in ensuring the safety of the people in Brunei," a press release from Brunei's Ministry of Health said.

"This delivery is part of a wave of arrivals that will continue over the coming months," the health ministry said.

According to the health ministry, 24,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine were shipped on Wednesday from Amsterdam via Singapore to Brunei, arriving on Friday. These 24,000 doses are the first of a total of 100,800 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine expected to be provided in batches by the COVAX Facility by the end of June.

Brunei has granted special authorization for three vaccines to be used in the country, namely the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and Sinopharm vaccine.

As an addition to procurement through the COVAX facility, Brunei will be procuring vaccines through bilateral arrangements as well.