Zimbabwe Takes Delivery Of 500 000 More Chinese Covid-19 Vaccines




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ZIMBABWE will take delivery of half a million more doses of Covid-19 vaccines this Saturday and an additional 2 million doses from China at the end of this June, government has said.

At a post-cabinet media briefing in Harare Tuesday, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Vice President and Health minister Constantino Chiwenga had briefed Cabinet on the expected arrival of the drugs from China.

“Two million doses of vaccines are expected in the country from China by end of June whilst 500 000 doses are expected in the country this Saturday,” Mutsvangwa told the media.

The minister said government’s vaccination programme will see all border posts being prioritised for vaccination.

Zimbabwe has been receiving the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines from China since earlier this year.

The vaccines are coming in at a time the country is experiencing a surge in new cases of Covid-19 especially in Mashonaland West province where more cases of the pandemic have been recorded past few weeks.

By Tuesday this week, a cumulative 704 158 people had received their first doses of the jab while 440 220 others had received their second.

The minister said the situation within localised lockdown areas had hardly improved prompting government to extend the lockdown in Kwekwe where 160 cumulative cases, 72 recoveries and 7 deaths had been recorded between 9 May and 20 June this year.

Kariba district had Tuesday recorded 312 cases and two deaths while Hurungwe had recorded 9 cases as of June 7 and as of 20 June, it had 634 cases and 10 deaths.

Makonde district recorded a cumulative 2 cases as of 7 June but as at 20 June, cases had risen to 91.

“Urgent review of Polytechnics, vending sites, public transport spaces and markets would be carried out soon as government monitors the situation,” Mutsvangwa added.