astrazeneca vaccine

Mali chooses AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to immunize its population

AstraZeneca vaccine is the one choosen by the Malian government to fight against the covid-19 pandemic in the country. The government intends to immunize 4.2 million people by the start of April.

Health minister Fanta Siby said on Friday that the vaccination would first target medical staff, the elderly and those with comorbidities.

Siby said the vaccines unlike some others, do not need to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures and would arrive in the country at the end of March.

“The vaccine that Mali has chosen, like most African countries, is the vaccine that keeps at +2 and +8 degrees,” the minister told reporters.

In a statement released on social networks, the government said it was intending to buy more than 8.4 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccines which would cost more than $58m.

Read more: Egypt begins vaccination against the covid-19 pandemic

The World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi) have set up the Covax mechanism to distribute doses to disadvantaged countries. WHO hopes to send the first vaccines at the end of January or in February.

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