Pan Afrikanist Watchman
Botswana will on Sunday 25 April 2021 receive a donation of two hundred thousand (200 000) doses of Sinovac vaccines from the Government of the People’s Republic of China.
China has stood unwaveringly by Botswana’s side since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China, donating personal protective equipment as well as medical supplies and a batch of testing reagents not only to Botswana but other African countries.
The donation follows the visit to Botswana in January by Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, during which he and his Botswana counterpart, Dr. Lemogang Kwape, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
According to Acting Permanent Secretary, Government Communications in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration John Dipowe, this donation precedes an additional two hundred thousand purchased doses of Sinovac, which are “expected to arrive in the country soon”.
Dipowe confirmed that the consignment will arrive at the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport on Sunday at 14:15pm and will be received by the Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration Kab Morwaeng; Health and Wellness Minister Edwin Dikoloti and some senior Government officials.
This is the second donation of Covid-19 vaccines from an Asian country. The first 36 000 doses of Covishield (Astrazaneca) were donated by India under the Covax facility and was used to start the inoculation campaign in the country of just under three (3) million people.
As of 10th April this year, some 31 628 people across the seven (7) districts, being, Ngamiland District Health Management Team (DHMT), Greater Francistown DHMT, Greater Gaborone DHMT, Serowe DHMT, Kweneng East DHMT, Greater Selebi Phikwe DHMT and Kgatleng DHMT – had been successfully vaccinated.
There were however, only two cases of deaths reported n or around the time the elderly clients were inoculated with Covishield in the Greater Palapye and Greater Gaborone (Kweneng area) Covid Zones.
These cases were immediately referred to the Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority (BOMRA) to find out of the cause of the deaths was in way linked to the vaccine.
In some western countries and indeed in Africa, the Astrazaneca vaccine had attracted lots of controversy with reports linking it to patients developing blood clots after taking it in some cases leading authorities to suspending its use at the advice of World Health Organisation.
Botswana’s death toll attributed to Covid-19 as of April 23, 2021 stood at 691while total registered number of infections were 45, 855 with some 41, 338 civilians recovered from the disease.
Meantime, the country remains in a state of emergency until Independence Day on September 30th while a 10pm to 4am curfew has been imposed to try and restrict movements.
China has signaled its openness to vaccine cooperation as well as pledged that once developed and deployed, its vaccines will be made a “global public good” and to help to realise the accessibility and affordability of Covid vaccines in developing countries.
China has also joined the WHO’s COVAX plan while Chinese vaccine developers – Sinovac, Sinopharm and CanSinoBio – have applied to join Covax.
