President Lazarus Chakwera says Malawi has procured doses of AstraZeneca which will arrive in the country by the end of this month.
Speaking during a national address broadcast on Sunday, Chakwera said a vaccination programme will be rolled out in March.
The vaccination programme will target 20 percent of the Malawi population (about 3.6 million people) and will prioritize frontline workers, the elderly and those with underlying conditions.
Chakwera then assured Malawians that local scientists will verify the safety of the vaccine and provide the public with full information.
“…so that no one is misled by social media lies and propaganda that against vaccinations the scientific community has worked hard to provide to save lives,” said Chakwera.
Speaking during the briefing, Chairperson of the Coronavirus Taskforce said 60-80 percent of a population need to be vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity.
He then expressed hope that Malawians will accept the vaccine saying Malawi is known for doing very well in vaccine programmes and the vaccine acceptability among people in the country is 80-95 percent.
“Be assured, we have enough science, we are bringing only products that are going to protect us as Malawians in the manner that other vaccines have always protected us,” said Phuka.
