On Monday, a plane carrying Zimbabwe’s first shipment of sinopharm covid vaccines landed in Harare, it is capital. It is estimated that the dose amounted to about 200000 vaccines. Reports reveal that the vaccines were a donation from China, that promised to supply Africa with vaccines to battle the pandemic.
Zimbabwe Vaccination Plans
Like the states that have been endorsing covid vaccination, Zimbabwe plans to kick off its inoculation campaigns soon. The country also expects to receive close to 600000 doses of vaccine from China come early March. There is not much transparency on how much Zimbabwe will pay China’s National Pharmaceutical group for the second batch of vaccines.
The Vice President of Zimbabwe, Constantino Chiwenga, head of the delegation receiving the vaccine, announced that the health workers would be the first to receive the immunization. This comes when health workers have been endangered more so as they are the front liners in battle the virus. They need to have stable health to attend to patients.
“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.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe has set aside 100 million dollars for vaccines. The state plans to purchase up to 20 million doses of vaccine, hoping to immunize about 60 percent of its total population. Mthuli Ncube, Zimbabwe’s finance minister, stated that they are anticipated China to supply them with around 1.8 million doses of the vaccines. He did not leave any further comments on the matter.
What Do Other African States Plan Amid the Pandemic?
As of now, only a handful of African States has managed to access the vaccine. The majority are still struggling to obtain the supplies. There is a lot of uncertainty as to whether Africa will afford vaccinations for its 1.3 billion population. More so, as some countries in the state have toppled economic-wise, making it challenging for them to afford vaccines. Although there is the COVAX program and donations from World Health Organization, some countries are bound to miss the vaccination, I.e., unless there is equitable distribution of doses worldwide.
Last month, a lot of controversies regarding the distribution of covid vaccines made rounds. It was alleged that wealthier states were hoarding vaccines at the expense of low-income nations. President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose country has recorded the new covid variant’s surging cases, was displeased by the unfairness. He was the one who voiced out the issue. It is unfair when some countries keep the vaccines’ extra supply while others have not received the first batch. Unity, Equity, and discipline might be the essential attributes while battling the pandemic
The African Union announced that it had secured about 670 million covid vaccines for Africa. Other than China, Countries like India and Russia are also manufacturing the vaccine. Zimbabwe is negotiating with Russia over procurement of its Sputnik vaccines. And again, it is expecting more doses from India and COVAX. Currently, Zimbabwe has confirmed up to 35000 coronavirus cases and 1400 deaths.
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