30pc Rwandans get full dose of Covid vaccine

By JOHNSON KANAMUGIRE

By Ange Iliza

Rwanda has reached the 30 per cent vaccination coverage after more than 3.8 million people received the full dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Ministry of Health data indicates that 6.3 million more people also got their first jab under the ongoing mass vaccination campaign extended to children between 12 and 17 years, in addition to offering booster doses to groups deemed at high risk recently.

The country has so far administered 108 booster vaccine shots to frontline workers, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions amid reports of Omicron variant spreading globally.

“This milestone is highly attributed to leadership, partnership, coordination and community engagement,” Health Minister Daniel Ngamije said, adding that the current vaccination coverage sets the government on a good track to cover 70 per cent of the population by latest December 2022.  

Rwanda, with an estimated population of 13 million, plans to have 9.3 million people fully vaccinated by the end of next year. The target implies 10.8 million more vaccine doses are needed.

The population that has received at least one dose of the vaccine currently stands at 45 per cent.

The December 6 data, issued by the multilateral task force on Covid-19 which tracks, coordinates and advanced delivery of coronavirus health tools to developing countries, indicates that Rwanda has so far received and administered 9 million vaccine doses.

The country has secured an additional 22 million doses whose supply is still pending.