Africa-Press – Tanzania. As the new Covid-19 variant- Omicron- ravages the world, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has stressed the need for Tanzanians to continue taking precautionary measures against the pandemic, including turning up for vaccination.
During the ceremony in Dar es Salaam on Saturday to lay the foundation stone for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project-Phase II, the Head of State noted that the new variant has hit not just European countries, but also certain African countries.
“Let me remind you to continue to take precautions and vaccinate against this disease as the Omicron version has already infected several nations,” she stated. Intense research into the new variant of coronavirus has begun.
She added, “I have heard the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner boasting that you are leading the way in vaccination,” she continued, “but that is not true because there are 6 million people in this city and you have taken 400,000 vaccines so far, of which 58 per cent have been administered… you have not done enough,”.
Ms Samia stated it was critical for regional authorities to enhance vaccine uptake in the region by scaling up initiatives at the grassroots level.
Earlier, Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Amos Makala said the region has received 400,000 vaccines, and many people were getting the jabs.
It’s been less than a week since scientists in Botswana and South Africa warned the rest of the globe about the fast-spreading Omicron variant. Researchers from all around the world are scrambling to comprehend the harm that the variant poses to the world, which has already been confirmed in over 40 countries.
On 26 November, World Health Organisation (WHO) designated the variant B.1.1.529 a variant of concern, named Omicron, on the advice of WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE).
They made the conclusion based on data submitted to the TAG-VE that Omicron contains several alterations that could affect how it acts, such as how easily it spreads or the severity of the sickness it causes.
The world should not panic about the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 but it should prepare, WHO has said. Speaking at a conference on Friday, top WHO scientist Soumya Swaminathan said the situation now was very different from a year ago.
Under the Covax facility arrangement, Tanzania has received 4,421,540 Covid-19 vaccines from Sinopharm, Pfizer, and Janssen that has to be administered to 2,882,545 people.
As of 28 November this year, the total number of people who had been vaccinated was 1,520,275, equivalent to 2.7 per cent of all Tanzanians. Of those who completed the dose are 1,027,818. The government’s goal is to reach 60 per cent of all Tanzanians in the country.
Despite efforts to provide vaccines, the government has developed several strategies to combat the disease by strengthening medical services. One of these strategies is to expand Covid-19 testing, which is currently done at the National Health Laboratory in Dar es Saalam, Mbeya Regional Referral Hospital, Arusha and Dodoma Regional Referral Hospitals, and Bugando Hospital in Mwanza.
Since the onset of the pandemic in March of last year, Tanzania has registered 26,261 Covid-19 cases and 730 deaths.
For More News And Analysis About Tanzania Follow Africa-Press
