Zimbabwe will have access to Chinese Covid-19 vaccine soon: ambassador

Zimbabwe will have access to a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine soon, China’s ambassador in Harare said on Tuesday, as Beijing ramps up its availability to developing nations.

Last week, Zimbabwe health officials said Russia and China had approached it about supplying coronavirus vaccines.

Covid infections have escalated in Zimbabwe this year, with about 60% of its 33,548 cases and more than two-thirds of its 1,234 deaths recorded since New Year’s Day.

Only a handful of African nations have begun giving doses as the continent scrambles to obtain supplies for its 1.3 billion people — at a time when many richer nations are racing ahead with mass immunisation campaigns.