Africa-Press – Lesotho. Over 200 000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine were received by the Minister of Health Hon. Semano Sekatle on Friday at the Ministry of Health headquarters in Maseru. Speaking at the handover
ceremony, the People’s Republic of China’s Ambassador to Lesotho Lei Kezhong said he hopes the vaccines will help boost Lesotho’s efforts in the fight
against the pandemic. The Ambassador thanked the Ministry, Chinese Embassy and the private sector for facilitating the arrival of the vaccines. Kezhong highlighted
that since the outbreak of Coronavirus, the Chinese government has donated eight batches of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Lesotho. “I believe that through
working together in the fight against the pandemic, we will prevail,” he charged. Sinopharm is the third type of the vaccine to be imported into the country after AstraZeneca and
Johnson and Johnson vaccines. It is expected that these vaccines will have over 100 000 people inoculated. The Sinopharm vaccine is administered in two shots at the interval of three to four weeks between the
first and second dose as per the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s recommendation. For his part, the Minister of Health said the country is this month expecting an excess of
263 400 doses of the vaccines. Sekatle mentioned that first 200 000 vaccines are gifts from China and 3 400 vaccines have
been procured by the Chinese Embassy and 60 000 doses of vaccines were procured by the private sector. The Minister appealed to the nation to vaccinate, citing the immunity resilience of those who have
taken vaccines; that they are not vulnerable to hospitalisations. He said Lesotho is regarded as an advanced country in terms of carrying out the vaccination roll
out, saying it is an “example” in Africa. He said by Friday morning last week, about 124 000 people had received their jabs. According to World Health Organisation WHO, “vaccines work by training and preparing the body’s
natural defences- the immune system- to recognise and fight off the viruses and bacteria they target. After the vaccination, if the body is later exposed to
those disease-causing germs, the body is immediately ready to destroy them, preventing illness.” “Vaccines alone will not end the pandemic but they go a long way to in fighting the pandemic,” WHO
Country Representative Dr Richard Banda said adding that the pandemic is not yet over. He further urged the members of the public to observe health measurers.
Lesotho first recorded a COVID-19 case on May 13, 2020. According to the data supplied by the National COVID-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC) on Sunday the 22nd
August, there are 146 348 tests conducted, 14 382 positive cases, 6 763 recoveries and the deaths have clocked 400. The Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro said the government is planning to inoculate about 1.4 million people.
