Tanzania nears milestone in Covid vaccination target

More than 94 percent of Tanzanians targeted by the government for Covid-19 vaccination have been vaccinated against the global pandemic, the country’s Health ministry has revealed.

The ministry revealed that out of the targeted 30.7 million people, about 29.1 million had received the Covid-19 jabs by December 2.

And out of the entire population of 61.7 million people, 29.1 million have been vaccinated, representing 47.2 percent.

“The government has continued to provide Covid-19 vaccination from across the country to curb the Covid-19 outbreak.  We insist that people continue taking preventative measures against the virus and all other airborne diseases, including wearing face masks when you are in a crowded area or having flu,”  Tanzania’s chief medical officer Tumaini Nagu stated.

Tanzania’s Health ministry encouraged citizens to take the matter seriously and observe all the necessary precautions against the viral disease, including being fully vaccinated against Covid-19, washing hands with water and soap, exercising and eating healthy and seeking medical care in time.

The country never closed its borders since the first outbreak in March 2020 and resumed operations a few months later.

Currently, there are barely any signs or strict measures to curb the virus, including social distancing.

Meanwhile, Tanzania recorded a 62.5 percent increase in new Covid-19 cases in two months from October 29 to December 2.

The Health ministry’s report shows that a total of 442 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed, which is almost twice the previous month’s record of 272 new cases.

By Tuesday, Tanzania had recorded a total of 40,656 Covid-19 cases and 845 deaths.

Globally, there are a total of 646 million cases and around 6.64 million deaths reported since Covid-19’s first outbreak in December 2019 in Wuhan, China.