Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa presents the State of the Nation Address at the State House in Harare, Zimbabwe, Oct 22, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Zimbabwe on Tuesday received more supplies of COVID-19 vaccines from China in a gesture welcomed by the southern African country.
The shipment comprised a second batch of a donated vaccine from Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm and additional doses of a shot from Sinovac Biotech－the latter bought by the government.
Taking possession of the doses at the airport in the capital Harare on Tuesday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was the first country in Africa to receive a second batch of a COVID-19 vaccine from China.
With this week's delivery, China has given 400,000 vaccine doses to the southern African country. The first delivery was made in February. That put Zimbabwe among the first 14 developing nations to receive vaccine aid from China.
Mnangagwa said the Chinese vaccines would help the country achieve its herd immunity goal of at least 60 percent of the population, and demonstrated the strong relations between Zimbabwe and China.
Taking possession of the doses at the airport in the capital Harare on Tuesday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was the first country in Africa to receive a second batch of a COVID-19 vaccine from China
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"We are making steady progress in the fight against the pandemic and in the ongoing national COVID-19 vaccination rollout program," he said.
"We remain thankful to China for their support of this program. This includes the timely provision of epidemiological expertise and personal protective equipment, among other aspects."
Guo Shaochun, the Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, said China was pleased that Zimbabwe was among the first countries to receive a vaccine donation from China, and one of the few to which China has donated twice so far.
Expression of solidarity
"This is the most powerful interpretation of the great friendship and solidarity between our two countries and our two peoples," he said.
Guo said China had donated COVID-19 vaccines to 69 developing countries in urgent need, and is exporting vaccines to 43 countries.
More than 60 countries have authorized the use of Chinese vaccines, he said, adding that their safety and effectiveness are earning recognition across the world.
The diplomat said China opposed vaccine nationalism. "We reject any 'vaccine divide' or any attempt to politicize vaccine cooperation," he said.
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On Feb 18, Zimbabwe launched a nationwide vaccination program prioritizing frontline workers and the media after the country took delivery of the first batch of doses from China.
Almost 38,000 Zimbabweans have been vaccinated. Four vaccines－Sinopharm and Sinovac from China, Covaxin from India and Sputnik V from Russia－have been authorized for emergency use by the country.
In addition to the vaccine donation from China, the government has bought 1.2 million doses of vaccines from China and will receive 75,000 doses from Russia and 12,000 doses from India.
The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.