Indian COVID-19 Variant Reaches Zambia

An Indian variant of the COVID-19 virus has reached Zambia, reports have confirmed.

The variant arrived in a male aged 42 who travelled from India to Zambia.

Knowledge of the COVID-19 variant arriving into the country has caused the Zambian government to make a questionable decision to suspend first-dose vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine. The reserve is left for those remaining who require a second dose. 

As a result of this decision, many Zambians will not be vaccinated at all against the disease, with the government’s slow uptake of a vaccine programme resulting in less than 1% of the population having already been vaccinated.

Around the world the Indian variant of the virus is a cause for real concern, causing over 4,000 deaths every single day in its country of origin. The variant also appears to be more transmissible, with India recording over 300,000 cases of the virus every day. Several Indian cities are running out of oxygen as a result of the severity of the symptoms which the variant provides.

Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary for Technical Services Dr Kennedy Malama has noted that the country has seen an increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 recorded over the last 24 hours.

Photo: REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo