COVID-19: Zimbabwe receives first batch of Sinopharm vaccines

COVID-19: Zimbabwe receives first batch of Sinopharm vaccines

Zimbabwe has received its first 200,000 vaccines against the coronavirus, a donation from the Chinese government.

Vice President and Health Minister Constantino Chiwenga was at Robert Mugabe International Airport in the capital, Harare, in the early hours of Monday for the arrival of Sinopharm vaccine doses from China.

“We have not lost sight of the fact that when needed, China’s response has been swift,” he said, describing China’s donation as “another demonstration of the long bond of friendship. and solidarity ”.

This donation is one of the first shipments of vaccines from China to Africa, after shipments to Egypt and Equatorial Guinea. The government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has purchased an additional 600,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine which are expected to arrive early next month, according to state media.

The first doses will be subject to routine checks by the local drug control authority before being administered this week. Health professionals and immigration officers working at border posts will have first priority for jabs, according to a government rollout plan.

Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun said Zimbabwe was one of the first of 58 countries to receive donations of the Sinopharm vaccine.

“Zimbabwe is our brother, so Zimbabwe’s vaccine supply is not a problem,” he said.

Additional doses

Chinese-made jabs are just the start of the millions needed in Zimbabwe to vaccinate 10 million people, or 60% of the country’s population.

Zimbabwe “has also put forward its expression of interest” to be part of an African Union initiative to purchase bulk vaccines for the continent, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said last week.

The cash-strapped government of the country says it has budgeted $ 100 million for vaccines and local businesses have also been asked to donate to the effort.

In total, Zimbabwe plans to procure a total of 1.8 million doses of the Sinopharm formula – which is 79 percent effective, according to its developers.

“Next month, we will acquire additional vaccines from China up to 600,000 doses and the program will continue until we move towards the goal of 1.8 million doses,” the minister said. Finance Mthuli Ncube at the airport.

If Zimbabwe starts vaccination next week, it will be the first in the southern African region to do so. Its better-off neighbor, South Africa, an economic powerhouse, has yet to start immunizing after suspending its own campaign.

South Africa has halted the start of vaccinations over concerns over the efficacy of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine against a variant of the coronavirus that is dominant in the country. He had received a million doses of the jab.

The effectiveness of Chinese Sinopharm against the new variant is still unclear.

Zimbabwe had recorded 35,172 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday, including 1,400 related deaths.

Paralyzed healthcare facilities across the country are struggling to cope with COVID-19 patients, as the system is already bogged down by decades of underfunding and mismanagement.

President Mnangagwa is expected to make an announcement later Monday after imposing a new lockdown last month, including a dusk-to-dawn curfew, to curb the spread of the infection.