Madagascar government on Monday started its Covid-19 vaccination campaign with Health Minister Jean Louis Hanitrala Rakotovao among the first to be inoculated in the capital, Antananarivo, reported Africa News.
On Saturday, the Indian Ocean island nation received its first shipment of 250,000 AstraZeneca jabs. The country is currently witnessing a surge in infection numbers which saw some schools and community centers transformed into treatment facilities. The spike is most likely due to the South African coronavirus variant, which has caused a second wave.
The government has already imposed a weekend curfew in an attempt to curb the spread of infection in the city, forcing everyone off the streets from Friday evening to Monday.
“I’ll be back for the second dose, I’m already ready for it. I encourage people to get vaccinated because it is good to fight against the coronavirus. Many people are infected and have died from this disease,” said Hanitra Lovasoa Rasoarimalala, a civil servant after being vaccinated.
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina has been criticized for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. He snubbed all vaccines and had been promoting a locally made herbal concoction, which is based on the anti-malarial plant Artemisia, as a cure for the virus despite a warning from the World Health Organization. Dubbed Covid-Organics or CVO, the herbal brew has not been scientifically tested.
But last month the country joined the Covax program, a facility co-led by the World Health Organization, the Gavi vaccine alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. The Covax initiative seeks to ensure poor countries have equitable access to vaccines to combat the pandemic.
Madagascar, an island of around 27 million inhabitants, has registered about 38,874 coronavirus infections, including at least 716 deaths so far. Last month, President Rajoelina said the Sinopharm, Pfizer, and Covishield vaccines would also be used in the country’s vaccination drive.
