LUSAKA, Zambia

Zambia has started a door-to-door vaccination campaign against COVID-19 to achieve 70% herd immunity against the pandemic by June, a health official said.

The country's Health Ministry also engaged community-based health volunteers in the exercise being carried out in concert with mass citizen sensitization on the benefits of vaccination.

Addressing a virtual media science meeting in the capital Lusaka on Thursday, Zambia National Public Health Institute Infectious Diseases Specialist Paul Zulu said the Southern African country might experience a fifth wave of the pandemic in May, June, and July.

Zulu said the country had so far only vaccinated 40% of its more than 18 million citizens.

“About 95% of the unvaccinated people are likely to experience severe illness after infection and current data shows that cases will further go up as Zambians drop their guard against the pandemic,” stated Zulu.

Since the pandemic outbreak two years ago, the country recorded 319,431 confirmed cases and 3,976 deaths.