India-made Covid-19 vaccines consignment reaches Rwanda

at 5:36 pm
rwanda vaccine
COVID-19 vaccines consignment land in Kigali, Rwanda (Source: Twitter @RwandaHealth)

New Delhi (NVI): Under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative, the first consignment of Made-in-India COVID-19 vaccines today landed in Kigali, capital of Rwanda.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar took to Twitter and share the news with picture of Qatar Airways flight carrying the vaccines consignment.

“Reaching out to Rwanda. Made in India vaccines land in Kigali #VaccineMaitri,” Jaishankar tweeted.

Rwanda’s Ministry of Health in this regard also took to Twitter and wrote, “Rwanda today received the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines through the #COVAX initiative.”

In a statement, the Health Ministry said, a flight carrying 2,40,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) landed at the Kigali International Airport in the morning hours today.

The second shipment of 1,02,960 doses of the Pfizer vaccine also from the COVAX facility is expected to arrive in the evening.

A total of 171,480 people identified as high-risk groups will be prioritized with each recipient receiving two doses for full protection of vaccine, the statement said.

Notably, the vaccination exercise will be rolled out on March 5 across Rwanda in hospitals and health centers, and vaccine recipients of will be invited directly through their district hospitals.

So far, 24 countries worldwide have already received ‘Made in India’ vaccines and 49 more nations will be supplied in the coming days, ranging from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to Africa, South-East Asia and the Pacific Islands, the the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said.

Under the vaccine Maitri initiative, India has been providing COVID-19 vaccines to its neighboring countries and those in its extended neighborhood.

-RJV

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