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Delivery of first wave of COVID-19 vaccines expected month-end or in February – Shangula

Delivery of first wave of COVID-19 vaccines expected month-end or in February – Shangula

The COVAX Facility recently informed the government that it may be in a position to initiate a small scale “first wave” of deliveries using the Pfizer vaccine as early as end of January or February, the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula announced Wednesday.

During his address of the 23rd COVID-19 public briefing on measures to contain the virus to the nation, Shangula said the government has paid around N$29,272,320 to acquire the COVID-19 vaccine through the facility.

The doses that have been acquired are to be used to vaccinate 20% of the country’s population which is around 508,200 people, the minister said.

According to Shangula, the country’s COVID-19 National Vaccine Task-force is busy at work to put mechanisms and logistics in place to roll out the vaccine.

“We will prioritize front line health care workers and population groups vulnerable to severe COVID-19 disease once the vaccine becomes available,” he added.

Shangula said apart from the COVAX Facility, there have been engagements on a bilateral basis with, China, Russia, and other countries that are making great progress in the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines for possible deals and or donations.

Meanwhile, Shangula said to achieve a sufficient level of herd immunity (when most of a population is immune to an infectious disease), Namibia needs to achieve a coverage rate of 60 to 80% of the population.


 

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