Burundi starts COVID jabs; just North Korea, Eritrea remain

By ELOGE WILLY KANEZA
Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — One of the world’s last three countries to administer COVID-19 vaccines has started giving out doses as the East African nation of Burundi launched its national campaign. The vaccinations started in the commercial capital, Bujumbura, though health workers told The Associated Press that barely more than a dozen people had received doses by mid-afternoon. Recipients included the ministers of health and security. Only North Korea and the Horn of Africa nation of Eritrea have not administered any COVID-19 vaccines, according to the World Health Organization. Burundi’s previous government under the late President Pierre Nkurunziza had been criticized for taking the pandemic lightly.