by Health correspondent
Despite concerted efforts to discredit the Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine, Sinopharm, the drug is getting popular even in unexpected countries.
China has outshined most of the Western countries including the United States which have been ravaged by the COVID-9 pandemic. The Asian country is exporting COVID-19 vaccines to 27 countries and providing free vaccine aid to 53 countries in need.
Serbia is one of the European countries that has disregarded the Western propaganda against the Chinese vaccines. Belgrade began a mass inoculation campaign using China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine last month, with health officials and hundreds of uniformed soldiers lining up to get their jabs.
Serbian Health Minister, Zlatibor Loncar inspired public confidence in the vaccine by being the first person to be inoculated in an event broadcast live on State television.
"It is the only way to return to normal life. These are all very safe vaccines," Minister Loncar said.
Defence Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic together with more than 700 members of the military were vaccinated with the Chinese-made vaccine.
"I have been inoculated with the Chinese vaccine, which we completely trust.... I've said I will get the same vaccine as our troops," Defence Chief Stefanovic told reporters.
Serbia has recorded 3,771 deaths from COVID-19 and 347,111 overall cases.
Another European country to use the Chinese vaccine is Hungary which has so far purchased five million doses from Sinopharm. The Hungarian authorities are fighting hard to dispel the propaganda against the vaccine.
“I ask for all fears to be dispelled about the Chinese and Russian vaccines, because more than 30 million people have received these vaccines without any particular problems,” Hungary’s chief medical officer, Cecilia Muller said at a virtual media briefing on Wednesday.
Hungary has recorded a total of 410,129 cases and 14,552 fatalities
Other countries that are using Sinopharm are Argentina, Morocco, Egypt, Seychelles, Senegal, United Arab Emirates, Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe, among others.
In the United Arab Emirates, Sinopharm vaccine is reportedly being offered to a handful of wealthy people paying for access to the UAE’s COVID-19 vaccination programme as part of a partnership to bring tourism into the area.
Zimbabwe received a donation of 200 000 doses from China and the Asian economic giant is set to donate another package of 200 000 doses. There has been a barrage of criticism of the Sinopharm vaccine by Zimbabwean opposition parties who are discouraging Zimbabweans from taking the jab. Vice President, Constatino Chiwenga who is also the Health Minister took the same jab to dispel misinformation about the safety of Sinopharm.
Sinopharm and another Chinese-made vaccine, Sinovac have been proved effective against the much feared Brazilian and South African COVID-19 variants.
