Malawi ‘hopeful’ as Covid vaccines arrive, says Malawi-based Irish bishop

After overcoming a spike in cases in January, Malawi is “hopeful” of continued improvement as vaccines start to arrive, says Bishop John Ryan of Mzuzu Diocese.

Bishop Ryan, a St Patrick’s Missionary, has been bishop in Mzuzu since 2016 and told The Irish Catholic that the situation there “is not as bad as in Europe”.

“You go down town, it’s the same as normal nearly,” the bishop said. “The more you go into the rural areas, the more normal. For some strange reason, we don’t really know why, we’ve been spared the worst of it.”

The country is to receive its first doses of the vaccine next week and Bishop Ryan says that the people of Mzuzu are “hopeful”.

“I think there’s efforts to try to get the developing world up to speed with the vaccines,” Rev Ryan said. “I think everyone recognises the importance of the vaccine reaching all corners.”