The Ministry of Health confirmed on Sunday 14 February the launch of vaccination against covid-19 in Rwanda. High-risk groups are the first to be served.
Through a press release on twitter, the Ministry of Health announced the start of vaccination against covid-19. “The Ministry of Health’s national vaccination program has started to vaccinate especially front-line medical staff,” said the message from the Ministry of Health. These first vaccines in limited quantities have been obtained thanks to the international partnership.
This initial phase will be followed by a larger supply later this month from COVAX and the African Union’s African Medical Supply Platform.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Daniel Ngamije, calls on the population to continue to respect the barrier gestures. “Before and after vaccination against covid-19…we continue to respect the preventive measures against covid-19 until we reach a minimum coverage of 60% of vaccinated Rwandans,” emphasizes Dr. Ngamije. This rate is expected to be reached towards the end of 2021.
By the end of February, Rwanda is ready to receive 102,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 996,000 doses of AsraZeneca vaccine. Others are expected to arrive in the country during the second quarter of the year. All covid-19 vaccines will be free of charge.
Gérard Rugambwa
