Sudan Receives First Shipment of Pfizer

Sudan received the first shipment of over half a million doses of Pfizer vaccine on 6 October 2021 as a donation from the United States Government through the COVAX facility.

#HappeningNow Sudan received the first shipment of over half a million doses of Pfizer vaccine as a donation from the United States Government through the COVAX facility. https://t.co/7tUx7NTHnY pic.twitter.com/8yDtJlGA79

— UNICEF Sudan (@UNICEFSudan) October 6, 2021

499,590 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrived in #Sudan in 2 shipments as the governments of the United States & Sudan collaborate on ending the #COVID19 pandemic. We lament the high toll on lives this deadly disease has taken & will continue working together to fight COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/dXidgkcPqX

— US Embassy Khartoum (@USEmbassyKRT) October 7, 2021

The country will receive a total of 1,274,130 doses of Pfizer following the successful installation of five Ultra Cold Chain Units (UCCU) in the National Cold Storage facility of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), as part of sustained efforts in preparing Sudan to receive Pfizer and other vaccines requiring Ultra Cold Chain Units.

UCCU are units that are needed to store vaccines that require very cold temperatures, as cold as -70 degrees Celsius, to ensure the effectiveness of the doses.

Sudan plans to vaccinate 20% of the population, about 8.4 million people out of 42.3 million.

According to UNICEF Sudan, more than 800,000 people in Sudan including healthcare workers have been vaccinated since March 2021 with the first COVAX shipment and other donations. Most have taken only one dose, and the new shipment will contribute to an increase in the number of people who are fully vaccinated.

In March 2021, Sudan received an initial 820,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines through COVAX and UNICEF, and 250,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine as a donation from China. In September 2021, more than 357,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines as a grant from the Federal Republic of Germany. 

In Sudan, from January 2020 to October 2021, there have been more than 38,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 2,951 deaths.