UNICEF will deliver the first shipment of 264,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on 7 March as part of the first allocation of the 1.44 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX Facility to the Ministry of Health.

Led by UNICEF, the procurement and delivery of this supply of the vaccines through the COVAX facility underpins the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan of the Ministry of Health (MOH) and will provide critical vaccination support for 20 per cent of the population, Colombopage said 

The first 264,000 doses from COVAX will be for the most vulnerable persons above 60 years of age group in the most high-risk areas impacted by COVID-19. the website said.