Ivory Coast has launched the world’s first Covid-19 inoculation drive with doses imported from the Covax sharing facility, a milestone in the race to extend vaccine access to poorer countries, Reuters reports.

Patrick Achi, the secretary-general at the presidency, was the first to be vaccinated at a sports complex in the commercial capital, Abidjan. Onlookers cheered as a health worker in a white coat and pink scrubs delivered the injection. “The vaccines offer us the hope of returning to normal in the coming months," said Achi.

“This is a day many of us have been dreaming of and working for more than 12 months,” said World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.