Zimbabwe president gets first Chinese vaccine dose

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday received his first shot of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in Victoria Falls, from where he officially launched the second phase of the coronavirus national mass vaccination drive.

"I just received my COVID-19 vaccine! Zimbabweans – the vaccine is safe and effective. I urge you all to get your jab," he said on his Twitter account after being inoculated.

Victoria Falls is strategic to the launch of COVID-19 mass vaccination program as it is the country's prime tourism destination, and the first place to record the first case of COVID-19 in March last year.

In receiving the shot, Mnangagwa was joined by leaders of political parties, among them President of the Movement for Democratic Change Douglas Mwonzora, who got his second dose in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, on Wednesday morning. Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri also got her COVID-19 vaccine shot.

The inoculation of President Mnangagwa and political party leaders is expected to instil people's confidence in the country's vaccination campaign.

In early February, the Zimbabwe Medicines Control Authority authorised the emergency use of four COVID-19 vaccines including Sinovac and Sinopharm from China, Russia's Sputnik V and India's Covaxin, effectively paving the way for a national vaccination program.

Zimbabwe then kicked off its COVID-19 vaccination rollout on February 18 after receiving its first donation of 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine from China.

On March 16, Mnangagwa received a second donation of 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine becoming one of a few countries in the world that have so far received a second batch of vaccines from China. On the same day, the Zimbabwe government also took delivery of 200,000 doses of the 1.2 million Sinovac vaccine doses it purchased from China. The remainder of the vaccines will arrive at the end of March.

After targeting health workers and journalists, the second stage of the country's vaccination program is prioritizing teachers, the clergy, judiciary, security services and the elderly.

By March 24, a tally from Ministry of Health and Child Care indicated that 49,404 people had been vaccinated against COVID-19.

China has donated and sold vaccines to about 18 African countries, many of whom have used the vaccines to rollout their national inoculation programs.