Malawi's State of Preparedness for Covid-19 Vaccine

#AfricaBrief's Editor-in-Chief Winston Mwale speaks to Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Charles Mwamsambo.

Winston: What preparations has the country made for vaccinating its citizens against the novel coronavirus?

Dr. Mwamsambo: Following our COVAX FACILITY approval, we are now working to finalize our costed deployment plan, probably by end of this month, for submission to WHO and the Gavi Covax team. Once the deployment plan is approved, then we shall be waiting for the next available vaccines for our use.

Winston: When is it likely that vaccines will be available for the most vulnerable? And for the rest of the population?

Dr. Mwamsambo: Likely in the 2nd and 3rd quarter of 2021. This begins with targeting 20% which includes health and social workers.

Winston: Where do you think our country is “on the curve” that shows how epidemics and pandemics grow and decline?

Dr. Mwamsambo: The curve is still steep and exponentially going up, looking at the daily number of cases against recovery. We are registering more cases and fewer recoveries at the same time.