Government Procured Vaccines Arrive

129,600 Johnson & Johnson vaccines procured by the new United Party for National Development (UPND) government arrived in the country this week.

On receiving the vaccines at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, the Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary for Technical Services Dr Kennedy Malama said that the acquisition of the vaccines by the government was an exciting moment for the country.

“These vaccines have been procured following the commitment government made that we shall ensure that 4.4 million doses of Johnson and Johnson will come to Zambia,” Dr Malama said.

“So, for us, it is an exciting moment. You are aware that the vaccines we have been receiving have either been through COVAX or bilateral partnerships. Today we are here to receive vaccines which government made a commitment to procure,” he added.

The Permanent Secretary for Technical Services added that the procurement of vaccines was vital to protect citizens against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The procurement of such vaccines marks a change in the government’s response to COVID-19. Under the previous PF government, former President Edgar Lungu rarely, if ever, addressed the nation on the planned response to the pandemic to reassure citizens.

Comparatively, under the new UPND government, steps are being made to ensure that the country does not rely wholly on external aid to support the COVID-19 response. Subsequently, just 53 cases of the virus were recorded on Monday.