Times Of Swaziland: NO CONFIRMED DATE FOR VACCINE ARRIVAL

NO CONFIRMED DATE FOR VACCINE ARRIVAL
================================================================================
Phumelele Mkhonta on 08/03/2021 09:54:00


MBABANE - The exact delivery date for COVID-19 vaccines is being withheld from
government.
While the desperation for COVID-19 vaccines grows in the country and emaSwati
become anxious about its delivery date, especially after the extension of the
partial lockdown by a further two weeks, government has come out to state that
they also did not know when the vaccines would be delivered. EmaSwati have been
witnessing other African countries receiving COVID-19 vaccines, which were
either bought directly by the countries or donated by their development
partners, almost every other day since February this year.
Celebrating
While countries continue celebrating their rolling out of vaccines, the kingdom
is still waiting on the good news of the exact delivery date of the vaccines.
The delivery of the vaccines will then see the start of Phase I of the rollout
programme, where healthcare workers, the elderly and people with comorbidities
will be vaccinated. Government promised locals that the expected 108 000 Oxford
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines will be in the country by end of February or
beginning of March. As it is, the country is in the second week of March and
there is still no precise date on when the vaccine would be received.
Many people believe that the delay of the delivery and rolling out of vaccines
in the country has influenced the decision of extending the partial lockdown and
this means that churches, the sale and distribution of alcohol is still banned,
schools remain closed, retail outlets are expected close at 6pm and the 8pm to
4am curfew remains, among many other measures.
Since February 24, COVAX has been distributing COVID-19 vaccines and they began
in Ghana. Worth noting is that Eswatini is among 92 beneficiaries of COVAX and
the first batch of vaccines expected from the facility contains 108 000 doses.
Access
COVAX is COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, a global initiative aimed at equitable
access to COVID-19 vaccines led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health
Organisation (WHO), the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)
and others.