Africa-Press – Namibia. UNCERTAINTY about the origins of vaccines in Namibia has been heightened after the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a warning about fake vaccines that have been detected in India and Uganda.
The warning was misinterpreted after only parts of the WHO warning filtered through the population on social media platforms. The new vaccine hesitancy prompted the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shagula to formally declare all vaccines in use in Namibia safe and beyond reproach.
“I wish to assure the public that the Covishield vaccine that has been used in Namibia were received from the genuine manufacturer in India,” he said before adding that all vaccines used in Namibia are procured from reliable sources.
The WHO, last week, issued a medical alert about fake Covishield vaccines that have been traced to India and Uganda.
According to the alert, the fake antigens were detected and reported late in July and at the beginning of August. The incidents were confirmed by the manufacturer of Covishield, the Serum Institute of India.
In the alert, the WHO called for the immediate removal of such vaccines from circulation because it poses a serious risk to public health.
“We ask the public not to accept any vaccine that is not sourced through the government. We also ask the public not to believe the insinuation that the Astra Zeneca vaccines in Namibia are fake,” Dr Shangula said.
Dr Shangula’s assurance of the safety of vaccines in Namibia was preceded by an urgent statement from the ministry’s Executive Director, Ben Nangombe in which he said that all consignments of the vaccines delivered to Namibia have been confirmed as genuine with the supplier.
“The health ministry can confirm that none of the vaccines in Namibia is among the fake batches discovered to be in use in other countries. The safety of Namibians remains our priority and responsibility. All pharmaceuticals including all vaccines currently in use in Namibia are carefully checked and go through a rigorous authentication process before its use is authorised,” Nangombe said.
He said that the health ministry is in constant contact and direct with the WHO through the organisation’s office in Windhoek to share and obtain all relevant information related to matters of health at a national, regional, continental, and global level.
“As the country continues to receive more vaccines, the health ministry along with other regulatory authorities remain vigilant in ensuring that all vaccines and medication are safe for use in Namibia,” he said.
Nangome made use of the opportunity to encourage more Namibians to go out in numbers to get their jabs.
He said that at the moment Namibian health authorities are only administering Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines at vaccination points across the country.
According to the latest Covid-19 statistics provided by the health ministry, 121 473 people received the first jab of the Sinopharm vaccine while 79 044 people were jabbed with the first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine. That is a total of 200 517 people that received the first shot.
The statistics also indicate that 60 813 people were fully vaccinated with Sinopharm while 35 746 people have taken the second shot of the Astra Zeneca vaccine. The number of people that received the second jab currently totals 96 599.
