Malawi Fears Its COVID Vaccines Will Expire Due to Hesitancy

BLANTYRE, MALAWI - Malawi health authorities fear vaccine hesitancy could lead to tens of thousands of COVID-19 jabs expiring early next month.  With just 2% of Malawi’s population vaccinated, authorities hope to increase uptake by deploying mobile vaccination clinics to bring the vaccine closer to people.

Malawi has so far received just over 1.2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines under the COVAX facility. But vaccine hesitancy in Malawi is widespread largely because of misperceptions of the jabs' efficacy and safety.    Dr. Gift Kawalazira, who heads Health and Social Services at the Blantyre Health Office, says there’s yet another reason for the low vaccination rate.