Feb 15th 2021- Zimbabwe has today received their first 200,000 doses for corona virus donations from china. The doses arrived on plane in their capital, Harare, this morning.
Zimbabwe’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, head of the delegation receiving the vaccines, says that front line health workers would be the first to be vaccinated.
“This is a timely donation…our people have suffered from this pandemic. The vaccine offers the possibility that our people who have borne the brunt of the economic ravages of the pandemic might finally turn a new page,” Chiwenga said.
Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa added that a further 600,000 doses from China are set to arrive in early March. In attendance also was finance minister Mthuli Ncube said around 1.8 million vaccine doses would be acquired from China.
In aims to hoist stability in the country amidst the pandemic crisis, Zimbabwe has set aside $100 million for vaccine procurement, and is looking to buy 20 million doses in efforts to immunize about 60% of its population.
Zimbabwe is also in negotiations with Russia over the procurement of its Sputnik vaccines and was expecting more doses from India and COVAX.
In attempts to deliver the vaccine doses to most African countries, the African Union reported to have secured 670 million doses but still are at a larger task in efforts reach 1.3 billion people. Only a few African nations have already begun to administer the vaccines to its citizens.
They already have reported 35,000 cases with 1,400 deaths.