- The government of Malawi has decided to go ahead with procuring the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, despite concerns about its efficacy.
- Malawi has already acquired 1.5 million doses and that more vaccines will be arriving.
The government of Malawi has decided to go ahead with procuring the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, despite concerns about its efficacy. Disclosing this,  Minister of Health Khumbize Chiponda and Minister of Information Gospel Kazako informed that Malawi has already acquired 1.5 million doses and that more vaccine will be arriving. About four and a half million people are expected to be vaccinated. The government sources said that the main reason for Malawi choosing AstraZeneca was the affordability of the vaccine. In a televised address on Covid-19, President Chakwera pointed out that though the efficacy is lower than other vaccine types, the AstraZeneca vaccine had one great advantage over the other vaccines- its cost. Majority of Malawians have shown willingness to take the vaccine if it were proved to be safe and effective.
Malawi has faced a surge in COVID 19 South Africa variant infections recently with the arrival of about 1000 Malawians from South Africa. According to reports, the AstraZeneca vaccine provided only minimal protection against mild or moderate infection from the B.1.351 variant.
