4 African countries to receive donated COVID-19 vaccine doses from the United States

Four African countries will receive a combined 1.2 million vaccine doses from the United States.

Vaccines were shipped to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Guinea and Seychelles on Friday, a White House official confirmed to Reuters. The doses are being donated through COVAX, a program run by the World Health Organization to help create a more equitable distribution of Covid vaccines. 

Africa has lagged sharply behind other regions in vaccinating its citizens, with most countries reporting single-digit vaccination rates, compared with much higher double-digit rates in advanced economies such as the United States.

Another African nation, Rwanda, received 500,000 doses from the United States earlier this summer as well.