Africa-Press – Mauritius. The 30,000 doses of Component 2 of the Sputnik V vaccine, which were received in September 2021, will be administered to the population as from 08 September 2021. Those who have been inoculated with Component 1 of the vaccine can call on the hotline 141 so as to book an appointment and to have more information with regards to the Centres where the Component 2 will be administered.
The Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, made this announcement, this afternoon, at the press briefing of the National Communication Committee on COVID-19, at the New Treasury Building in Port-Louis. The Chairperson of the National Covid Vaccination Committee, Dr Zouberr Joomaye, and the epidemiologist and advisor to the Health Ministry, Dr Catherine Gaud, were also present.
Dr Jagutpal gave an overview of the ongoing vaccination campaign and highlighted that to date, some 824,232 persons have already received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, representing 66% of the population in general and 87% of the adult population. In addition, some 760,972 persons have already been fully vaccinated, which represent 60% of the overall population and 81% of the adult population, he underlined.
Minister Jagutpal also appealed to some 135,000 Mauritians who have not yet been inoculated to do so at the earliest, especially the elderly and those with comorbidities.
As far as Rodrigues is concerned, the Minister indicated that 21,154 persons have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, representing 49% of the population, while the number of persons fully vaccinated stands at 15,864 (37% of the population).
Moreover, speaking about the Pfizer vaccine, Dr Jagutpal underscored that 76,050 of same are expected to be received from the COVAX Facility in three weeks’ time. He pointed out that his Ministry and the National Covid Vaccination Committee are currently working on the modalities for the Pfizer vaccine to be administered to teenagers aged between 12 to 17 years old.
The Health Minister further spoke about the situation in treatment centres and at the New ENT Hospital. There are 50 patients with mild symptoms and four with severe symptoms admitted at the New ENT Hospital, while 31 asymptomatic patients are being monitored due to their medical condition. He stated that 941 asymptomatic patients are in different treatment centres, 2,347 persons are self-isolated and 3,455 are currently in quarantine centres, out of which 614 came from abroad. Dr Jagutpal also stressed that since 05 March 2021, some 22 deaths have been attributed to Covid-19.
With regards to the Domiciliary Monitoring Unit, he remarked that some 32 doctors have been recruited so as to operate the Unit. These doctors will visit persons who are self-isolated and positive to Covid-19 so as to provide them with the necessary treatment.
For his part, Dr Joomaye indicated that the High-Level Committee has taken note of scientific publications concerning pregnant women and those who are breast-feeding. He stated that it is now recommended that these women can be inoculated and that this implies that women who were exempted from vaccination will have to be inoculated so as to access their place of work, where applicable.
He also recalled that precautionary sanitary measures must be observed at all times so as to stop the spread of the virus and urged the population to act responsibly.
As for Dr Gaud, she dwelt on the C.1.2 strain of the virus which was first discovered in South Africa and reassured that this same strain is not present in the local community. She also reminded that the sequencing exercise is still being carried out on a regular basis so as to closely monitor the situation in the country.
