18 Aug 2021

Government has embarked on a rigorous drive to acquire COVID-19 vaccines to save lives and mitigate the societal and economic impact of the scourge, Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Edwin Dikoloti has said.
Giving an update in Gaborone on Tuesday, Dr Dikoloti said government was doing all in its power to source vaccines.

 He said government had resolved that if need be, some national development plans would be put on hold in order to purchase vaccines.

Dr Dikoloti explained that efforts to source vaccines began in May 2020 which saw Botswana subscribing to the global and regional vaccine access platforms of COVAX and African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

He said government had also been engaging manufacturers directly and signing bilateral agreements as well as leveraging on diplomatic relationships with different countries for vaccine donations.

Government, he said, had invested in ensuring that the nation received COVID-19 vaccine and attributed delivery delays to high global demand which far outstripped supply.

Dr Dikoloti said government had since secured a number of Moderna, Pfizer, COVAXIN and Sinovac doses through different platforms such as COVAX and AVAT.

He stated that through bilateral relations, a total of 311 900 doses had either been pledged or delivered.

They included 30 000 doses of Astrazeneca India, 200 000 Sinovac China and 81 900 Pfizer donated by the Indian, Chinese and US governments respectively, he said.

Minister Dikoloti said a total of 658 690 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been delivered between March and this month with more expected between now and September.

He said government had set a vaccination target of 1.5 million people living in Botswana aged 18 and above.

For her part, Department of Health Services acting director, Dr Pamela Smith-Lawrence advised those who were COVID-19 positive not to take the vaccine until they were pronounced negative.

She stressed that even those with flu-like symptoms should be treated first before they could be vaccinated.

Dr Smith-Lawrence assured Batswana that enough vaccines had been secured for the entire adult population.

In addition, government was working on acquiring vaccines for children below the age of 18, she stated.BOPA