Malawi will proceed with its plan to import the "efficient" AstraZeneca vaccine, President Lazarus Chakwera said on Sunday in an address to the nation.

The country expects to receive its first consignment of the vaccine at the end of February for roll-out in March. It will consist of 1.5 million doses.

A recent study on the AstraZeneca vaccine showed "disappointing" results against the South African variant of coronavirus.

The South African variant has been linked to a second wave of infections in Malawi, according to Fabrice Weissman of charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.

But President Chakwera said the strategy of limiting new infections offers the best chance against the disease.

He said the vaccine has an efficacy rate of between 60% to 65% which was still "high enough to save lives", the Nation news website reports.

The president also said the vaccine costs less.

"The hardship of preventing new infections is better than the hardship of treating them," he said.

Malawi has so far confirmed 27,195 coronavirus cases and 856 according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.