By Mercy Nsaliwa
The Ministry of Health has embarked on a second phase of the COVID-19 Vaccination Express Initiative aimed at fast tracking the vaccination exercise by ensuring availability of vaccination services in remote areas of the country.
The initiative has been launched today at Nsaru Trading Centre in Lilongwe.
According to the Ministry of Health, the COVID-19 vaccination express will utilize branded vans and minibuses which will carry the vaccinators and those responsible for health promotion and COVID-19 communication materials.
The initiative will ensure that health workers reach a lot of people including those in the remotest areas in the shortest possible time.
“With this initiative Malawians will now have the opportunity to get vaccinated during week days and weekends. As a country we are committed to reach our vaccination target. Just to remind you that countries in the African Region through the African Union have agreed to reach the 60% minimum target by December 2022,” the ministry said in a statement.
The new initiative follows the successful implementation of the first phase which was carried out between November and December 2021 in which over half a million doses of vaccines were successfully administered in the country.
In Malawi, 1,098,898 and 399,078 people have received the first dose and second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine respectively, 376,648 have received Johnson and Johnson, and 7,327 have received first dose of Pfizer vaccine. Cumulatively, 775,726 people are fully vaccinated.
