Zimbabwe receives first Covid-19 vaccine doses donated by China
Zimbabwe on Monday received its first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine,
donated to the southern African nation by China.
Zimbabwean Vice President and Health Minister Constantino Chiwenga
personally received 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine at Robert Mugabe
International Airport in the capital Harare in the early hours of Monday.
Health workers will be first in line to be inoculated, according to
Chiwenga.
"We receive this vaccine as a
glimmer of hope that finally we may be on the verge of returning to some
semblance of normalcy," the vice president said.
Zimbabwe aims to vaccinate some 10 million citizens within a year to
achieve herd immunity, according to health officials.
The country plans to purchase an additional 1.8 million doses of the
Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine, which is produced by a state-owned Chinese
manufacturer, of which 600,000 doses are expected to arrive by the end of
March, according to government.
Zimbabwe has reported more than 35,000 cases of Covid-19 and 1,400 deaths.
