By Alpha Abu
After two sets of different COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Sierra Leone in recent weeks, NACOVERC the local body coordinating efforts at combating the coronavirus pandemic will commence distribution of the drugs for application in various parts of Sierra Leone.
NACOVERC’s Spokesperson Solomon Jamiru told Journalists at the weekly press briefing by the Ministry of Information and Communications in Freetown that there was going to be a “high profile vaccination”, preceding a structured roll- out plan, scheduled to start today from State House in Freetown.
And after citing instances in which two Presidents, Nana Akufo Addo and Joko Widodo of Ghana and Indonesia respectively, first had shots of the vaccines in their respective countries to muster public confidence, the apparent inference was that President Julius Maada Bio will be the first person in Sierra Leone to likely get a jab this Monday of either the AstraZeneca or Sinopharm vaccines that are now in the country.
Jamiru said the two vaccines have gone through clinical trials and have been validated within and out of their countries of origin thereby confirming their efficacy. He spoke of a priority distribution plan that they have in place which will initially target healthcare and other frontline workers as well as people aged 70 and over. He stated the age limit will gradually be lowered as the vaccination process progresses, taking certain factors into consideration.
50 sites have been selected across the country as part of the vaccination roll out strategies, with each district apart from the Western Area, to have two sites alongside one mobile unit. The Western Area is to have eight sites.
According to Jamiru, Sierra Leone was among nine countries in the African continent to have first received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
In buttressing Jamiru’s reference to the political class, Minister of Information and Communications Mohamed Rahman Swarray said “when political leaders get vaccinated it engenders trust and confidence in the whole process”. He attributed the inclusion of Sierra Leone amongst countries in the continent to get the first consignment of the vaccines, to the bilateral and multi –lateral relationships that President Bio has strengthened with other countries, over time.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Health and Sanitation over the weekend put out a press release allaying safety concerns it says were being raised over a particular batch of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine recorded as ABV5300. The statement notes:
“The vaccines we have received in Sierra Leone do not include any doses from the particular batch of vaccines in question”. The health authorities were reacting to concerns in some quarters of “observed side effects” associated with that batch. They have reassured the public that the AstraZeneca vaccine was safe and that they will continue to monitor developments around batch ABV5300 and will get the public informed “on any further development”.
Conspiracy theories still abound the world over about coronavirus and the vaccines, and it would have to get NACOVERC undertake a lot of public education to ensure cooperation from the people in having them vaccinated.
The global collaborative institution facilitating fair access to COVID -19 tests, treatment and vaccines, COVAX, on Monday 8 March 2021 delivered 90,000 doses of the Oxford University invented AstraZeneca vaccine to Sierra Leone. China had on Thursday 25 February 2021 also donated to the country 200,000 doses of Sinopharm.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online 15/03/21
