Rwandan Health Minister Daniel Ngamije

The Rwandan government says it will offer free Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination to citizens after the country receives the vaccine next year.

Rwandan Health Minister Daniel Ngamije disclosed this in an interview with public broadcaster Rwanda Television on Friday.

“We will start with health personnel because they are part of people at high risk of being infected, people with comorbidity as well as elderly 65 years and above.

“These are the groups that are a priority for getting the vaccine at zero cost,” Ngamije said.

The health ministry is working to ensure it is ready to receive the vaccine when it is rolled out.

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The first batch of the vaccine could be received around March 2021, Ngamije added.

While forecasting a good acceptance of the vaccination among citizens, the minister said the government was mobilising resources to increase vaccination coverage from 20 per cent to 60 per cent.

Rwanda late Friday reported 79 new COVID-19 cases and 37 fresh recoveries, bringing its national caseload to 6,428 and recoveries to 5,826, with a total of 54 deaths.