𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄: 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐂 𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐂𝐔𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃

MHW 1/13/1 I (138) 21 September 2021

The Ministry of Health and Wellness issued a public statement last week indicating that it was unable to complete the due diligence assessment of the Sinovac vaccine that it received recently. This was because of the incomplete documentation that had accompanied the Sinovac vaccine. Members of the public are informed that the said documentation was delivered on 20 September 2021. This therefore, means that the process to complete the due diligence assessment that has to be conducted on all vaccines that arrive in the country, has resumed.

The ministry expects the assessment of the said Sinovac vaccine, together with that of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which arrived in the country over the weekend, to be completed in the next few days. It is therefore, anticipated that vaccination, which is currently at Phase two category, will also resume before the end of this week. Each District Health Management Team (DHMT), will announce its vaccination schedule including the specific details of where and when vaccination will be taking place.

The ministry appreciates the patience and understanding by members of the public that this was a necessary delay in order to allow for all the appropriate processes to be followed before the vaccines could be rolled out.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully

Dr Christopher Nyanga

For Permanent Secretary