Chinese vaccines rollout picks up steam worldwide

HARARE－A month after the first dose of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine was administered in Zimbabwe, the country's inoculation drive is gaining momentum.

By Saturday, more than 65,000 people had received either their first jabs of the Sinopharm vaccine or those from fellow Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotec. More than 7,900 people had received second doses of the vaccines.

On Friday, Wilkins Hospital in the capital Harare was abuzz with activity as people of all ages and racial backgrounds thronged the facility to receive their first shots of the Sinopharm vaccine.

On Wednesday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other prominent political leaders across the political divide received their first shots of the Sinovac vaccine during the launch of the second phase of the inoculation program in the resort city of Victoria Falls.

Vaccinated people in Harare expressed confidence that Chinese vaccines are providing some hope that the end of the pandemic is approaching.

Sixty-five-year-old Deborah Birch was excited to have received her first jab. "I am confident now that I have taken the Chinese vaccine," she said. "It's nothing new, it's tried and tested and safe."

Zimbabwe launched the first phase of its vaccination drive on Feb 18 after receiving its first batch of the Sinopharm vaccine, which was donated by China.

Last week, the southern African nation also took delivery of another batch of the donated Sinopharm vaccine and a batch of the Sinovac vaccine that it purchased from China.

In Latin America, El Salvador received on Sunday its first batch of the Sinovac vaccine, which will help speed up vaccinations in the country, local authorities reported.

At a reception ceremony at San Salvador's airport, Health Minister Francisco Alabi said that the vaccine, called CoronaVac, has been used in countries such as Chile, Brazil, and Turkey "with very favorable results".

Deep friendship reflected

China's Ambassador to El Salvador Ou Jianhong said at the ceremony that the delivery of the vaccine to El Salvador "reflects the deep friendship" between the two countries, as well as "the full support of the Chinese government for the Salvadoran government in its fight against the pandemic".

Ou also stressed the Chinese government's commitment to maintaining close cooperation with El Salvador on the vaccination process in order to offer "more tangible benefits" to the Salvadoran people.

On the same day, China and the United Arab Emirates discussed a plan to set up vaccination sites in the UAE to inoculate Chinese citizens living there.

A new factory in Abu Dhabi will start manufacturing Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine this year under a joint venture between the Chinese company and Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42.

The plant, which is being built in the Khalifa Industrial Zone of Abu Dhabi, will have a production capacity of 200 million doses a year with three filling lines and five automated packaging lines, a statement from the joint venture said on Monday.

Xinhua - Agencies