• The COVID-19 vaccination programme has made tremendous headway.
• The Ministry projects to hit the 100,000 mark for doses administered by the end of the week.
• 59 new confirmed cases and 1 death recorded in the last 24 hours.

Minister of Health says there has been tremendous progress with regards to the COVID-19 vaccination programme since it was launched and that the Ministry is projecting to hit the 100,000 mark for doses administered by the end of the week.
In a statement, Dr. Jonas Chanda said the cumulative number of vaccinated individuals now stands at 90,916 following the administration of 5,058 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the last 24 hours, of which 85,394 are AstraZeneca and 5,522 are Sinopharm doses administered to Chinese nationals.
Dr. Chanda also disclosed that the Chinese Government has pledged to provide Zambia with 100,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine to go towards the country’s vaccination programme.
“The COVID-19 vaccination programme has made tremendous headway since it was launched 28 days ago and we are projected to hit the 100,000 mark for doses administered by the end of the week.”
“In the last 24 hours, we administered an additional 5,058 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, bringing the cumulative number of vaccinated persons to 90,916. This is clear evidence that Zambians have accepted the COVID-19 vaccination program and discarded the various myths, misinformation and conspiracy theories,” Dr. Chanda said.
He further revealed that the Ministry has not received any reports of Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) after COVID-19 vaccination.
Dr. Chanda said the Ministry together with Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA), has therefore taken the decision, in to reach out to randomly selected vaccine recipients in order to establish if there are any unreported AEFIs.
And Dr. Chanda revealed that Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI) is earmarked as the Africa Union and Africa Centre for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) public health centre of excellence for the African continent.
“I am pleased to report that the ZNPHI is earmarked as the Africa Union/Africa Centre for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) public health centre of excellence for the African continent. We have also continued to receive tremendous support for resource mobilization from the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC).”
Meanwhile, Dr. Chanda said the country has in the last 24 hours 59 new confirmed cases out of 4,800 tests conducted, 1 death, and 35 discharges while 36 patients are currently admitted to various isolation facilities.
“This brings the cumulative number of confirmed cases recorded to date to 92,211. Sadly, we recorded one (1) new death in the last 24 hours, from the Levy Mwanawasa Hospital in Lusaka and classified as a COVID-associated death. The cumulative number of COVID-19 related deaths recorded to date now stands at 1,259 classified as 707 COVID deaths and 552 COVID-19 associated deaths.”
“A total 35 discharges were recorded from both the COVID-19 isolation facilities and home management, bringing the cumulative number of recoveries to 90,574 (98% recovered). There are currently 378 active cases, of whom 342 (90%) are under community management and 36 (10%) are admitted to our COVID-19 isolation facilities; we had 2 new admissions in the last 24 hours. Among those admitted, 31 (86%) are on Oxygen therapy and 9 (25%) are in critical condition,” he stated.