Last week we reported that Cape Verde had received covid vaccine from France and Hungary through Covax with more expected. The Cape Verdean Minister of Health, Arlindo do Rosario, has since announced that he is negotiating with China for more doses of the vaccine. He explained that there is the possibility of securing a further 250,000 doses from China, in addition to the 50,000 received in the last week. The World Bank has also provided five million dollars for the purchase of vaccine.
However, the Minister also referred to the number of doses needed. The Government’s target is to have vaccinated 70% of the population by the end of 2021. The number of people over the age of 18 and eligible for vaccination is between 360,000 and 370,000. To fully vaccinate 720,000 to 740,000 doses are needed in total.
Vaccination commenced in March. About 10% of the population have already been given one does of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 2,700 people have now had two doses of Pfizer. Clearly more vaccine doses are needed to fully immunise all those over the age of 18. The Minister hopes that the supply of vaccine will continue in order to meet fully protect the population.
[18 June 2021]
