South Africa says it will import 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to inoculate the country's health workers. This is South Africa's first announcement of the purchase of a Covid-19 vaccine as cases there soar, according to AP.

The first one million doses will be delivered later this month from the Serum Institute of India, followed by an additional 500,000 doses in February, Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize announced.

South Africa is battling a dramatic resurgence of Covid-19 that is quickly outstripping its first peak. It announced record highs of 21,832 new confirmed cases and 844 deaths late on Wednesday.