When the country receives the vaccine next year the Rwandan government has announced plans to provide free vaccination against COVID-19 to residents.
The announcement was made by Health Minister Daniel Ngamije during an interview with public broadcaster Rwanda Television on Friday, December 11.
“We will start with health personnel because they are part of people at high risk of being infected, people with comorbidity as well as elderly 65 years and above. These are the groups that are a priority for getting the vaccine at zero cost,” said Ngamije.
The Ministry of Health is working to ensure that when it is rolled out it is ready to receive the vaccine and the first batch of the vaccine could be received around March 2021, said Ngamije.
The minister said the government is mobilizing resources that will encourage vaccination coverage to gradually increase from 20 percent to 60 percent while predicting a strong acceptance of vaccination among people.