Lusaka (Zambia), July 18: The Zambian government on Saturday expressed happiness that the COVID-19 vaccination program in the country has been proceeding smoothly following initial hesitancy from members of the public to the program.
Kennedy Malama, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health in charge of Technical Services, said there was now an overwhelming response from the public who were rushing to be vaccinated.
According to him, the responses in all the provinces have been overwhelming, with some provinces like Lusaka depleting their allocations.
"We have come a long way from the initial vaccine hesitancy to now seeing a rush for the vaccine. We commend members of the public for this positive response and we will not disappoint as we have ramped up our efforts to bring in more vaccines into the country," he said in a statement on the COVID-19 situation.
The government was proud of the vaccination program, said the official, adding that although the country started the program later than other countries, significant progress has so far been made.
The official assured that the vaccine wastage was under control due to the rush as more people have come forward to get vaccinated.
Zambia launched the vaccination program on April 14 which was being done in a phased manner. The government is targeting to vaccinate about 8.4 million eligible people from 18 years old and above.
Zambia's cumulative COVID-19 cases now stand at 184,672 following 1,328 new cases reported in the last 24 hours.
Thirty new deaths were recorded during the same period, bringing the total deaths to 3,052, while 1,268 patients were discharged, bringing the total recoveries to 169,320.
Source: Xinhua
