Madagascar on Saturday received its first batch of coronavirus vaccines through the Covax global sharing scheme, one of the last countries in Africa to obtain the prised jabs following months of resistance by the president.
While countries across the globe scrambled to secure doses of the precious shots, Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina showed little interest in inoculation and instead continued to promote a locally brewed herbal drink as the only required coronavirus "cure".
Madagascar received the first 250,000 doses of Covishield - the Indian version of the AstraZeneca vaccine - to fight a second wave that has overwhelmed health facilities.
After refusing the vaccine for four months, Madagascar finally agreed to receive vaccines under the Covax facility program, which provides free access to the vaccine for low-income countries.
The Indian Ocean island nation is struggling with burgeoning infections with nearly 9,900 cases recorded over the past month, of which at least 194 have been fatal.
The country of around 27 million people has so far reported 34,775 coronavirus cases, including 588 deaths.
The resurgence prompted President Andry Rajoelina to abandon a hard-line stance on vaccines and agree to a rollout.
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