There have been no known adverse reactions among the 30 568 people inoculated using the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine since Zimbabwe began its vaccination programme, with only one mild reaction that resulted in a rash being the only alarm raising incident recorded so far.
This is in sharp contrast to the European Union’s vaccination strategy which is facing renewed criticism as it emerged Hungary is set to receive its first shipments of the Chinese jab Sinopharm by the end of the month.
The country, which plans to start administering doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine this week, has ordered enough supplies from Beijing to inoculate 2.5 million people.
It comes after its prime minister, Viktor Orban, criticised the EU’s rollout for ‘progressing slowly’.
Government leaders in the Czech Republic say they may follow Hungary’s lead by also using vaccines yet to be approved by Brussels.
Meanwhile, there have been fresh problems across EU states, including in Germany, where there are calls to punish those who skip queues for jabs amid reports that managers of some clinics got their injections before doctors and nurses.
The same Sinopharm shot announced by the United Arab Emirates on December 9 has an 86 per cent rate based on data.
In January, Serbia received one million doses of Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first European country to start a mass inoculation programme with it.
Back in Zimbabwe, more than 30000 people have been inoculated to date with the country expecting more batches from Russia and India.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said; “Russia Federation, Republic of India and the United Kingdom have all pledged donation of various vaccines, with Russia promising 20 000 of the Sputnik V vaccine and India promising 75 000 doses.
“Government has established a team of experts drawn from academia, ministry of Health and Child Care and research and clinical practitioners to monitor the effectiveness of the vaccines.
“The teams’ recommendations will guide the country’s vaccination rollout programme at all times. No major adverse reactions have been recorded to date, except for the single case of a minor reaction which manifested in a rush.”