With addl 8.5 mn doses, all will get the jab in NZ: PM

Motorists queue at the Otara testing station after a positive COVID-19 case was reported in the community as the city entered a level 3 lockdown in Auckland on February 15, 2021. Pic/AFP

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that everyone in the country will have access to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine after it secured an additional 8.5 million doses.

"The government has signed an advance purchase agreement for 8.5 million additional doses, enough to vaccinate 4.25 million people. The vaccines are expected to arrive in New Zealand during the second half of the year," Ardern told a press conference.

"This brings our total Pfizer order to 10 million doses or enough for 5 million people to get the two shots needed to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19," Xinhua news agency quoted the Prime Minister as saying. The government's original agreement with Pfizer was for approximately 1.5 million doses, enough to vaccinate 750,000 people. "It also means all New Zealanders will have the chance to access the same vaccine," Ardern said. "With every person who gets vaccinated, New Zealand gets one step closer to moving away from restrictions to manage COVID-19."

The Prime Minster added that options were being worked for donating surplus doses to the Pacific and developing countries worldwide. "We are committed to ensuring that any doses not needed here are put to good use elsewhere," she added. The country has so far reported 2,405 Coronavirus cases and 26 deaths.

Pandemic has worsened Africa's gender inequities
The pandemic has exacerbated gender inequities in Africa, a top WHO official said. The remark was made in a statement by Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO's Regional Director for Africa ahead of International Women's Day, reports Xinhua news agency. WHO said that African women bore the brunt of income losses, social marginalisation and health risks that escalated at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the continent.

‘Reopening of UK schools effort to beat COVID-19'
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the reopening of schools in England as a "national effort" to beat COVID, even though some experts warned that the country is still not "out of the woods". On February 22, Johnson had announced his long-anticipated "roadmap" exiting the lockdown, under which schools are scheduled to reopen from Monday as first part of the four-step plan, Xinhua news agency reported.

2,28,352
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

11,69,24,908
Total no. of cases worldwide

25,94,945
Total no. of deaths worldwide

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