By Ebi Kesiena
The United Nations has revealed that North Korea has rejected almost three million Covid-19 jabs offered to it.
A spokesperson of the UN said the country had asked that the vaccines be relocated to harder hit nations in view of global vaccine shortages.
Under the Covax programme which aims to help poorer nations obtain vaccines, Chinese-made Sinovac vaccines were offered to North Korea.
But North Korea claims not to have recorded any cases of the disease recently. The country was one of the first countries to close its borders last year.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) as of 19 August, North Korea had recorded no cases of Covid-19.
Some 37,291 people, including health care workers and those with flu-like illnesses have been tested and all were found to be negative.
However, a South-Korean think-tank associated with the country’s intelligence service, noted that this is the first time the country has rejected vaccines. In July, it rejected shipments of around two million doses of the AstraZeneca jab, citing concerns over potential side effects.
