Rwanda Kicks Off Country Wide COVID-19 Vaccination Process

By Spy Uganda Correspondent 

Kigali: Rwanda has begun countrywide Covid-19 vaccination process beginning with frontline healthcare workers and other vulnerable groups, the health ministry announced on Sunday.

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In a statement posted on Twitter, the ministry said the vaccinations had begun after “WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines acquired through international partnerships in limited quantities.”

“This initial phase will be followed by a wider roll-out this month with supplies expected from the global Covax initiative to provide vaccines as well as an African Union programme,” the statement added.

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Another source at the health ministry revealed that vaccinations had begun on Thursday last week, adding that some government officials confirmed they had also already received the vaccination.

Further sources indicate that the government had acquired an initial 1,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

The Rwanda government expects to acquire more than 128,000 doses and another batch of 96,000 doses before the end of February.

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“After that, the government will be negotiating for more doses in short intervals,” the source revealed.

Rwanda is the first country to begin vaccinations in East Africa.

The country of 12 million people has recorded just over 17,000 cases and 236 deaths, having implemented some of the strictest anti-coronavirus measures on the continent.