Rwanda was among the half of WHO member states that reached the December target to vaccinate 40 percent of their population. The country is now working towards the next target of vaccinating 70 percent of the 12.9 million population by June this year.

The recent Covid-19 vaccination campaign in January, saw over 800,000 people fully vaccinated and almost half a million people received their booster shots. Don't lower the guard yet, vaccine is the safer route.

This brought the total number of vaccinated people to over 7 million out of the targeted 9.1 million.

Rwanda Today spoke with Dr. Albert Tuyishime, director of Disease Control and Prevention at Rwanda Biomedical Center about Rwanda’s Covid-19 vaccination plans and more.

Once Rwanda vaccinates the target 9.1 million population, are there plans to scrap Covid-19 measures such as face masks and vaccine mandates like some countries have?

For now, we are focusing on getting the vaccine to everyone who needs it. As you have observed, new discoveries about the virus continue to surface every now and then. So, by the time we reach the target and our research and analysis show that we no longer need face masks, then we will decide accordingly. 

But I can not tell for now. The priority is making sure that everyone eligible is vaccinated.

One million people have already been given the booster shot. Do you plan to give the fourth dose?

The number of doses needed to protect people against Covid-19 should not be a concern. We already have some diseases that need more than four doses of vaccines, and we take them. Covid-19 is no exception. If research shows that we need four, five, or seasonal doses, we will give the doses.

What is more important is that we have enough vaccine doses to give to everyone eligible and Rwanda is working to secure enough.

Where does Rwanda get vaccines? How does Rwanda manage to administer all doses despite short shelf life?

There are four main sources that supplied Rwanda with around 15 million doses of vaccines. The first is COVAX Facility which started providing doses in March 2021. Then there is African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVAAT) by the African Union, and donations from partner countries and organizations. Rwanda also purchased some of the doses.

One of the reasons Rwanda managed to vaccinate as many people is the collaboration with local leaders, health workers, and public compliance. We administer doses as soon as we get them instead of keeping stocks.

How far is Rwanda’s plan to manufacture vaccines? Does Rwanda plan to export vaccines?

The first stage was to study the requirements in terms of resources, workforce, technology, among others. That is what we are doing currently. After that, partners are working to start putting together equipment and other requirements before they send to Rwanda.

There is a demand for vaccines in Africa, not just for Covod-19, but also other diseases like malaria and Tuberculosis.  Yes, Rwanda plans to supply for that demand. The timeline for the manufacturing is not clear yet because we are yet to know what we are required in terms of resources and workforce as a country.