UK donates 119 040 AstraZeneca doses

The 119 040 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca doses donated by the United Kingdom through Covax facility arrived in the country on Saturday.

Receiving the vaccines at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, Minister of Health Khumbize Chiponda said the vaccine will be in each district by tomorrow.

She said: “Distribution will start tomorrow [Sunday] and by Monday all districts will have received the vaccine and vaccination will start immediately.”

On her part, UK High Commission Charge d’ Affaires Fiona Ritchie said her government has made the donation to fulfill the pledge made by the G7 leaders to vaccinate the world.

So far, Malawi has received 750 000 doses of AstraZeneca of which 20 000 doses were destroyed after they expired.

Last week, government received 281 049 doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine donated by France through the same Covax facility.