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The Government has purchased five new ultra-cold freezers worth Rwf50 million, which will be used to store Covid-19 vaccines upon their arrival in the country.

The purchase of the fridges, which have the capacity to store vaccines at temperatures of minus 80 degree Celsius, is one of the major steps that have so far been taken in the country’s preparation to acquire, receive, store, and supply the vaccines.

According to officials at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), the fridges together with other equipment that will be used to transport the vaccines to different parts of the country are located at Masoro in the City of Kigali.

Vaccines expected in March

The development comes only days after the Director-General of RBC, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana appealed to Rwandans to be patient as the vaccines are expected in the country at least by March this year.

Appearing on the national broadcaster on Tuesday, January 12 to provide updates about the Covid-19 pandemic, Nsanzimana said the rising number of cases should encourage people to follow safety guidelines.

Nsanzimana appealed to the masses to, in the meantime, give the standard operating procedures, especially, wearing face masks, the attention that they deserve.

"We are doing everything possible to make the vaccines available. We applied and what remains now is to expedite the process but hopefully by March they should be here,” he said.  

Last month, the Minister of Health, Dr. Daniel Ngamije, said that Rwanda has already submitted all the necessary requirements to the COVAX framework, a global initiative that aims to speedily and affordably secure doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for member countries.

He also revealed that the country applied for two types of vaccines— AstraZeneca and Moderna.

About the beneficiaries

Only 20 per cent of Rwanda’s population will be vaccinated in the first phase, given the scarcity resources.

Health workers in hospitals, people aged above 65 years, and those with chronic diseases will be priority beneficiaries of the Covid-19 vaccine.

However, he said that the country seeks to increase the number to roughly 60 per cent.

"..this doesn’t stop us from engaging other countries in order to secure more doses to be able to vaccinate at least 60 per cent of the population,” he reiterated.

The vaccine is expected to cost an estimated $15 million but it will be free of charge to all the primary beneficiaries.

As of Wednesday, January 13, 2021, Rwanda had 10,122 confirmed cases of Covid-19. Of these, 6,974 while 3,020 were active cases. At least 128 people have succumbed to the virus since its outbreak in March last year.