Zimbabwe's nurses 'reluctant to take China vaccine'

Medical workers in Zimbabwe have been reluctant to take Covid-19 vaccinations received from China, the AFP news agency reports the nurses’ union as saying.

It cites a lack of clarity over whether China's Sinopharm vaccine protects against a virus variant that emerged in neighbouring South Africa.

The vaccination campaign began last week, but Enock Dongo, president of the 12,000-member Zimbabwe Nurses Association, said that uptake amongst health workers was low.

"As things stand, people are reluctant," Mr Dongo told AFP.

Developers of the Sinopharm vaccine say it is 79% effective against coronavirus.

But its efficacy against the more contagious variant, now dominant in Zimbabwe, is still unclear, AFP says.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: EPA