Libya has missed out on the first round of COVAX vaccines for COVID-19 because it has not submitted key documents on time, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement Wednesday.

WHO said that the Government of National Accord (GNA) issued a decree authorizing the Ministry of Health to sign a bilateral agreement for the direct procurement of vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

“The Presidential Council and the Scientific Committee have endorsed the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan. WHO has urged the national authorities to consider covering the costs of vaccines for over 570.000 migrants and refugees in the country.” The statement reads.

The statement added that although WHO has been sending regular supplies of PPE, health facilities reported they were still facing severe shortages of items, particularly gloves.

"WHO has arranged for additional supplies to be dispatched urgently. A detailed report will be issued at the end of the mission." It indicated.

COVAX initiative works to provide Covid-19 vaccines in a fair-share manner to all countries around the world and it contains many health organizations, including WHO.

Meanwhile, Libya's High Scientific Committee said it had contracted four Covid-19 vaccines' firms to bring 12 million doses, the first patch of which will arrive this month.