Mozambican Health Minister Armindo Tiago on Monday received 302,400 doses of vaccine against the Covid-19 respiratory disease, donated by the US government, through the COVAX global initiative.

The US grant is the vaccine produced by the Johnson and Johnson company, which, unlike all the other vaccines Mozambique has received to date, has the great advantage that it is administered in a single dose.

Tiago said the Health Ministry expects to receive a further million doses of vaccine on Tuesday.

"Though only three per cent of the population have been immunised since the start of the national vaccination plan in March, over the next few days we want to speed up the process to reach about 20 per cent of the eligible population by the end of September," he said.

The batch, he added, is the third in a total of 2,064,000 doses Mozambique is expecting to receive over the next few days, through the COVAX global initiative.

These doses are in addition to the 384,000 COVAX vaccines delivered early this year, plus the 108,000 others delivered by France and Portugal via COVAX earlier this month.

Tiago said the donation comes at a time when Mozambique, like other African countries, is facing the negative impact of the third wave of coronavirus infection which has been much more severe than the first two waves.

The Minister added that the vaccination rollout will reduce the current pressure on the health system arising from the spiralling number of Covid-19 patients who are already in a critical condition when they enter hospital.

The vaccination drive should reduce the number of Covid-19 deaths, and cut the number of people whose symptoms are so serious that they must be hospitalised. The population groups covered by this phase in the vaccination campaign will be announced on Tuesday, and Tiago stressed that all those covered should make their way to the vaccination posts as soon as possible.

The US Ambassador to Mozambique, Dennis Hearne, told the vaccine reception ceremony that, since the start of the pandemic, the United States has invested 38 million dollars to strengthen Mozambique's resilience to the virus. The assistance has been channeled towards acquisition of a wide range of equipment, including ventilators and staff training.

"As the largest donor to COVAX, the global vaccine facility, the US government has taken the lead in working with the international community to get this virus under control," he said, emphasizing that US President Joe Biden has pledged to lead a coordinated, international Covid-19 vaccination effort to ensure equitable access to vaccines.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) country representative, Tomas Valdez, said Mozambique is one of the beneficiaries of the COVAX initiative and after the delivery of the 302,400 doses, donated by the US government, the country has benefited from 38.8 per cent of the vaccines expected through the global plan.

He added that the WHO, UNICEF and other United Nations agencies as well as other COVAX donors and partners will remain firm and committed to supporting Mozambique in implementing its national vaccination plan.

Copyright Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source News Service English