Chakwera, Chilima to get COVID-19 vaccine tomorrow

President Lazarus Chakwera will get the Covid-19 jab at Zomba Field Hospital while Vice President Saulos Chilima will be vaccinated in Mzuzu on Thursday.

The exercise will mark the launch of the vaccine administration across the country aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 which has claimed lives of over 1000 Malawians.

State House Press Officer Brian Banda has confirmed of the development in an interview with the press.

Malawi received COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped via the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO. This is a historic step towards the goal of COVAX to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally, in what will be the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history. The delivery is part of a first wave of arrivals in Africa, and the first tranche of allocations for Malawi that will take place in the coming months and year through the COVAX Facility.

The COVAX Facility shipped 360,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from Serum Institute of India from Mumbai, India, to Lilongwe.

The arrival in Lilongwe marked a milestone for Malawi in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic which has claimed over 1000 lives and created a heavy burden on health facilities.