As the country anticipates mass coronavirus vaccine administration next week, government has disclosed that it will be issuing Covid-19 Vaccine Card to all those who will be inoculated with the jab. 

According to Minister of Health Khumbize Chiponda, the Covid-19 vaccine card is for record keeping purposes as people will be vaccinated twice.

“When we start the exercise of the vaccine, like we do with all the vaccine, you get a card because remember this vaccine you have to get two doses which are at least between 4 to 12 weeks apart.

We need to keep records, we need to collect data also in case there some adverse effects or there are some side effects, the card will indicate a name and a date when one has been vaccinated,” clarified Chiponda.

Chiponda added that government will advise in due course if such cards will also be used for travelling requirements in accordance with developments in other countries.

“If it’s going to be a requirement for one to travel, you know different countries have different requirements of travel, so it will depend country by country, we have not yet any requirement of that sort.

“But I am sure that since the vaccination has just started, may be some countries they will be requiring for one to have evidence that they have received the vaccine in order to have evidence that they have received the vaccine in order to enter their country,” said the Health Minister.

The country is on Friday expected to receive her first consignment consisting of 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine which, according to President Lazarus Chakwera, is enough to cover 750,000 people, with additional consignments on the way so that 3.8 million people can be vaccinated as matter of urgency.

Currently, there are at least eight different types of vaccine available around the world for protection against Coronavirus.

Seven of these vaccines, including the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, require two doses.