By Prince J Musa in Kenema
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation through the Kenema District Health Management Team (DHMT) has on Friday 18th June 2021 launched the first set of Ebola vaccine roll-out in Kenema targeting health workers and commercial motorbike riders.
The vaccine is part of over 8,000 doses that were donated to Sierra Leone in April 2021 through the partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the vaccine manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. It is targeted at frontline workers in the eight border districts namely Kailahun, Kenema, Kono, Koinadugu, Falaba, Karene, Kambia, and Pujehun to curtail further spread of the virus should it resurface in Sierra Leone.
Addressing the health staff and bike riders, the District Medical Officer in Kenema, Dr. Donald Samuel Grant said the first phase of the vaccination is targeting three categories of people namely, health workers, motorbike riders, and the traditional healers, given the country’s previous experience with the virus.
He explained that the health workers do interface with sick people on daily basis and are therefore at high risk of infection while the bike riders are major carriers of patients from one point to the other without knowing their health conditions. This he said puts them at risk of infection and that the traditional healers are mostly the first port of call for many illnesses in their localities.
Dr. Grant expressed delight over the support provided to the DHMT by the stakeholders in Kenema district in promoting quality health care service in the district, adding that they are expecting the targeted groups to come onboard and take their Ebola vaccine while encouraging the paramount chiefs to get their people to also take the coronavirus vaccine.
The Kenema District COVID Coordinator, Umaru Vandi Kondorvoh used the opportunity to inform those witnessing the Ebola vaccine roll-out, also about the third wave of the coronavirus disease and encouraged all to take the necessary preventive measures.
Speaking at the event, the representative from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Festus Amara told the gathering that, everybody is eligible to take the Ebola vaccine but that the quantity of the vaccine received could cater only for health workers, bike riders and traditional healers, highlighting the importance of the vaccine in protecting people from not getting the disease.
“The vaccine is safe as over 25,000 people have taken the vaccine and have not shown any side effect to it,’’ he assured.
Hassan Kamara a bike rider that happens to be the first to take the vaccine said it is good for them as bike riders, since they are always on the road taking people from one place to the other without knowing their health status.
He added it was an opportunity for the government to have prioritized them for the vaccine because most of them do not take any precautionary measures especially at night when transporting people.
Kamara called on his colleague bike riders to grab the opportunity and be vaccinated especially when Ebola has been recently declared over in Guinea and from where Sierra Leone got its first Ebola case through the Kailahun border area, leading to many deaths across the country.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online (21/06/21)
