First Chinese vaccines arrive in Maputo – AIM report

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First Chinese vaccines arrive in Maputo – AIM report

10:50 CAT | 25 Feb 2021

Mozambique received on Wednesday the first 200,000 doses of a vaccine against the Covid-19 respiratory disease, donated by the People’s Republic of China.

The delivery of the first consignment, ferried to Mozambique by an aircraft of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, was witnessed by Prime Minister, Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, the Minister of Health, Armindo Tiago, Chinese Ambassador Wang Hejun and other senior government officials.

Speaking at the delivery ceremony, held at the Maputo Air Base, Rosario thanked the government and the people of China for the donation of the first batch which consists of 200,000 doses and the same number of syringes.

“The swift delivery of the vaccine mirrors the determination and commitment of the leaders of both countries to ensure the well-being of the Mozambican people,” the Prime Minister said, stressing that the government has adopted a vaccination strategy that attaches priority to high risk groups particularly health professionals on the front-line of the fight against Covid-19.

Further details about the vaccination, he said, will be outlined very soon by the Ministry of Health. He also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensure that the country gets additional vaccines against Covid-19 to reach as many Mozambicans as possible.

Already the Indian government has promised to send Mozambique 100,000 doses of the vaccine developed by the Indian pharmaceutical industry.

Rosario warned that the arrival of vaccines should not lead Mozambicans to lower their guard. All the preventive measures against Covid-19 remain in force, he said, including regular hand washing, social distancing, and the wearing of face masks in public places.

Chinese Ambassador Wang Hejun pledged to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries in the health field and reaffirmed his country’s openness to assist Mozambique in acquiring more vaccines.

He said the Mozambican health system is currently under increasing pressure, but believed the first batch of the vaccine will certainly make an enormous difference. Mozambique is among the first African countries to receive the Chinese vaccines.

Vaccines are currently available from two Chinese companies, Sinopharm and Sinovac Biotech. The vaccine that arrived in Maputo was from Sinopharm.

Sinopharm announced on 30 December that phase three trials of the vaccine showed that it was 79% effective in stopping Covid-19 infection. Speaking to Mozambique Television (TVM) on Wednesday, the general director of the National Health Institute, Ilesh Jani, said the vaccine was almost 100 per cent effective in preventing the most serious forms of Covid-19, which require hospitalization.

200,000 doses is more than enough to vaccinate once everybody working in the Mozambican health service. But to be fully effective, the Sinopharm vaccine, like most Covid-19 vaccines, requires two shots, which should be delivered about three weeks apart.

A major advantage of the Sinopharm vaccine is that it does not need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures. It can be kept at normal refrigeration temperatures of two to eight degrees Celsius.