The number of people that have received a COVID-19 vaccine in Rwanda has crossed the 257,000 mark as the health authorities continue a push to inoculate 60 percent of the country’s population by 2022.

On Monday, mobile vaccination units targeted traders who are also considered essential personnel.

The East African country rolled out its mass vaccination drive earlier this month focusing on healthcare workers, essential service providers and the elderly.

Rwanda is one of the countries that have so far received doses of the COVID-19 vaccine through the World Health Organization's (WHO) COVAX initiative.

The COVAX initiative has also facilitated the delivery of vaccines to other African countries, including Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan and Uganda.

Health authorities in Rwanda hope to start administering the second shots of the vaccine to those who received the first jab in four weeks.