Rwanda has ordered an additional 500,000 vaccine doses of AstraZeneca as part of the second phase of the country’s COVID vaccine rollout, an official announced Tuesday.The minister of  Health, Dr Daniel Ngamije told reporters in Kigali that the second phase  of Rwanda’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout will start effective Friday 2  April.

Just 60% of Rwandans are eligible to be vaccinated in the first and second phase, the senior Rwandan government official said.

The  Rwandan government is purchasing the vaccine through the international  COVAX facility, created to facilitate access and production of the  vaccine.

The government has so far purchased vaccines developed by Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna.

Rwanda targets to vaccinate 8 million people in two years, according to the Health Ministry.

The  government has announced that the first and primary beneficiaries of  the COVID-19 jab will get it free. These include health personnel,  people with comorbidities as well as those aged 65 or above.

Rwanda  registered a record daily rise on Tuesday with 71 new coronavirus cases  confirmed, bringing the tally to 21,490 with 1,325 active cases.