YAOUNDE (Reuters) – Cameroon took delivery on Sunday of 200,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines, the first vaccines to arrive in the country, which will enable it inoculate frontline workers as it battles rising cases of coronavirus, the health ministry said.
The Central African nation has been hit hard by a second wave of the pandemic. The health ministry has so far reported over 61,700 cases with 919 deaths since the outbreak.
Reuters data shows that daily average numbers of coronavirus-related deaths reported in Cameroon has reached a new high of more than 53.
The health ministry said in a statement on Friday the doses would help the country, which is yet to start its vaccination campaign as it awaits vaccines that are in tight supply.
Cameroon is expected to receive vaccines through the COVAX global vaccines sharing scheme aimed at helping poor nations access vaccines. It was allocated around 1.75 million doses in the scheme and has ordered 1.29 million doses.
(Reporting by Josiane Kouagheu; Writing by Bate Felix; editing by David Evans)
