Malawi vaccine roll out: Chakwera first jab at Zomba Covid-19 field hospital, Chilima in Mzuzu
President Lazarus Chakwera twill this Thursday get the historic life saving Covid-19 vaccine at Zomba State House now turned Covid-19 field hospital.
This inaugurates the vaccination campaign for Covid-19, an infection which has killed over 3,000 people in the country.
A statement signed by Secretary to the President and Cabinet Zanga-Zanga Chikhosi says Vice-President Saulos Chilima will preside over a similar event at Mzuzu Covid-19 Field Hospital at Mzuzu Central Hospital from 12:30 pm.
The rolling out of the Covid-19 vaccine in all the regions also brings hope that life will come back to normal in months if not a year to come.
Currently, the Covid19 positivity rate stands at 8.05 percent.
This comes as in the past 24 hours, Malawi has registered 59 new cases of Covid-19 – representing 8.05 percent.
According to Khumbize Chiponda Kandodo, minister of health who is also co- chairperson of the President Taskforce on Covid-19, 586 people have recovered from Covid-19.
She said as the vaccination program starts, the President and his vice will be vaccinated.
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.
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The rollout of the vaccine is welcome news. However it will take too long for Malawi to achieve herd immunity. In the meantime people have relaxed their guard at alarming levels. I was at Area 18A yesterday; only about 5% of the people were wearing face masks. In January and February the figure wearing face masks in this same area (the bustling market and Maimba area) was about 80%. The shocking thing about yesterday is that Lingadzi Police Station is within less than 50 metres from this area; yet they are not enforcing the wearing of face masks. The Govt… Read more »
Next is blood clot. Wait, these people will be in trouble soon.
3000 dead? Are you really doing your work?
Can you inform Malawians exactly how many vaccines the government has privately procured and when exactly the vaccination programme is expected to be completed countrywide?
FOSEKI
Not even in UK do they know the exact date the vaccination will be be completed.
Where is Chiponda and team? Is she not the one who told us that when the vaccines arrive they will undergo local lab test to ascertain the efficacy? Has the test been done? Be careful, this is what will force Malawians to have no faith in the vaccines because you don’t keep your word. Why the change of heart?
Amene sakufuna akhale sizoumiruza izi ayi. Kufa saferana…
FOSEKI
Do they have the capacity to check the status of vaccine. Eee just make your own vaccine.
Komatu vax uyu siwabho, tingomwela umphawi kola sizithu ata.
Penapake atolankhani do some simple research and get your facts straight. Where are you getting the figure of “over 3000” killed by Covid? The government website (Covid19.health.gov.mw) states the national death rate is at 1074, inuyo figure ya 3000 mwayitenga kuti? Be serious guys! This kind of misinformation does not help at all!
3000 ? Fodya chani ? Zachamba basi I can’t trust this useless article that has been written without proper research . Matope a mtolankhani ngati awa .
I agree with the journalist. There are more people that have died of Covid 19 than the reported figure due to non-intensified testing. How can a whole country test less than 2,000 people in a day? Try to test 10,000 people and see how shocked the nation will be with the number of people with positive results.We are trying to magufulize the numbers.
Do not speculate
You’re right, this article seems very rushed
Nde pali zitsiru zina zikuyankhula zopanda nzeru regarding the vaccine.
And is the president and his vice taking the early jabs as an encouragement and morale booster or what? Otherwise the jabs should first go to front line health workers, essential workers and the vulnerable.
Anthu opanda pabwino inu. You have been saying the vaccine is dangerous and the president is trying to array fears and set an example, you start questioning why he has done it. People like you have nothing good to share with the society of Malawi apart from having a divisive mindset.
Agree completely. Should have gone first to our frontline health workers not theses useless cowards and liers. Where are the million jobs and mega farms? Have reduced passport and driving licence fees. Fotseki!
The vaccine Jab should have been administered at Our Tax Payers Residence and not to travel ndi nyawu zakozo mpaka ku Zomba just to get Vcaccinated. Account for our hard earned taxes please.
There is a backlash on the vaccine from the public, the president and VP want to dispel misinformation by getting the jab. Kind of saying, “Do as I Do”.
Angowabaya madzi amenewa..akutinamiza basi
There around 3.6 million doses available now so why not the president and the vp?
please it’s 360,000 doses which means 180,000 people can be vaccinated. Just FYI there are approximately 101,000 teachers in Malawi. The country is expecting a further 90,000 and 50,000 doses in the next few weeks. After that ” In God we trust”
In Africa there has been a huge amount of anti vaccine sentiment. Taking it first not only sends a positive message to the nation, but the president and ministers are certainly a high risk and priority group as they spend most days meeting different people. We can see this from the death rate of ministers globally as well as in Malawi! (6% death rate compared to 0.005% in general population).