On Saturday, November 27, Rwanda received a total of 301,860 doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine donated by the United States of America. With the new donation, the number of vaccines given to Rwanda by the US reaches 1,960,550 doses. In a statement released, the US embassy in Kigali said the delivery of vaccine doses highlighted the cooperation of the two countries. “This donation is a further symbol of U.S. commitment to work with the Government of Rwanda to protect the health of the Rwandan people,” the statement read. Besides vaccines, the US donations include syringes, personal protective equipment and testing kits. “The United States has provided nearly 2 million vaccine doses to Rwanda, with another million doses due to arrive via COVAX in December,” the US Ambassador to Rwanda Peter Vrooman said. The new vaccine donation comes at a time Rwanda has stepped up its vaccination drive, to inoculate more than 30 per cent of the targeted population by the end of 2021. Earlier this week, Rwanda launched a vaccination campaign in schools targeting children aged 12-17 years. As of Saturday, a total of 5,944,102 Rwandans had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while 3,439,172 had received two doses. The world is grappling with a new variant of the Covid-19, called Omicron, which has been confirmed in a number of countries. Rwanda has re-imposed a quarantine for incoming travellers to contain the spread of the Omicron variant.
