GABORONE, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) — Botswana plans to start rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations for adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years early next year, an official said Friday.

“We want Batswana and residents of Botswana to know that fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by rising Omicron variant, has begun knocking on our door,” Botswana’s Minister of Health and Wellness Edwin Dikoloti told journalists when deliberating a special festive message in Gaborone, Botswana’s capital.

According to Dikoloti, Botswana has recorded 148 cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant as of Dec. 16, saying the incidents are rising in the southern African country.

As the Botswana government is taking decisive measures to stop the spread of the disease by bringing more vaccines to vaccinate adolescents, Dikoloti urged citizens and residents of Botswana to vaccinate in large numbers and adhere to health protocols.

Although adolescents are less likely to suffer severe effects of COVID-19, many health officials say it is important to vaccinate them to keep schools open and to prevent them from becoming a reservoir for the virus as the adult populations are immunized.

So far at least 79.6 percent of Botswana’s adult population aged 18 years and above has been fully vaccinated.

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