Malawi has acquired enough doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to cover 20 percentage of the country’s population, President Lazarus Chakwera said on Sunday.
In a live address to the nation on Sunday night, Chakwera said his government is expected to take delivery of the vaccine doses by the end of February.
“The first consignment of the vaccine will arrive at the end of February in readiness for rollout in March, starting with 20 percent of the population,” the Malawian leader said.
The vaccination programme would prioritise frontline workers such as medical and security personnel as well as the elderly and those with underlying conditions.
Local scientists are expected to verify the safety of the vaccine before the rollout programme, Chakwera said.
The announcement comes as Malawi is battling a surge in COVID-19 infections, with 466 new cases and 15 deaths recorded in the past 24 hours alone, bringing the cumulative cases to 23,963 and 702 fatalities.
JN/APA