Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe on Tuesday took delivery of a further 1.056 million Sinovac vaccine doses purchased from China as government forges ahead with plans to get the majority of the population inoculated against Covid-19.

This brings to a combined 1.9 million doses of three vaccines – Sinopharm, Sinovac and Covaxin, the country has received from China and India respectively.

At least 435 000 doses were donated.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa told a post cabinet briefing that government was looking to buy a further two million doses.

“The outstanding one million and fifty six thousand vaccines from the 1 256 000 doses that were purchased by Government from China arrived today, 30st March, 2021,” Mutsvangwa said.

Mutsvangwa did not specify which vaccine government was looking to buy.

To date, four vaccines- Sinopharm, Sinovac, Covaxin and Russia’s Sputnik V have been approved for emergency use in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe launched its Covid-19 vaccination programme mid-last month, with priority initially given to frontline workers.
As at 29 March, nearly 70 000 people had received their first dose of the vaccines.

Since last March, nearly 37 000 people have been infected in Zimbabwe while 1 520 have succumbed to the pandemic.

Mutsvangwa said government was impressed with the way citizens had taken up vaccination in the resort city of Victoria Falls, with over 12 000 having been inoculated against a target of 25 000.

“Focus is now on hotspots which include the country’s major points of entry and exit, that is, Beitbridge, Plumtree, Chirundu, Kariba, Forbes and, Nyamapanda,” she said.

“Also included will be Mutare and the two metropolitan cities of Harare and Bulawayo.”

Zimbabwe is targeting to vaccinate at least 10 million people to achieve herd immunity.
New Ziana