Africa-Press – Tanzania. MINISTER for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Dr Dorothy Gwajima has reminded Tanzanians to continue taking precautions against coronavirus, warning that the pandemic is still there.
Dr Gwajima made the call in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday during the commemoration of 22nd year of the Health Basket Fund (HBF).
“If coronavirus is not over in the world, it is not over in Tanzania also, because it is an airborne disease that knows no boundaries, therefore, citizens must continue taking precautions, including getting vaccinated,” she said.
Minister Gwajima noted that people interested in knowing more about the disease should go to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the ministry’s website, adding that the country sends a Covid-19 report to the organisation every week and new statistics are released every Monday.
According to WHO figures, there were 25,846 confirmed Covid-19 cases between January 3rd 2020 and October 4th 2021 in Tanzania resulting in 719 deaths.
The report further indicated that the country has administered a total of 595,938 vaccination doses as of October 2, 2021.
As of October 4th 2021, WHO had received reports of 234,809,103 confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide, with 4,800,375 deaths. A total of 6,188,903,420 vaccine doses have been administered as of October 2, 2021.
However, Dr Gwajima commended Tanzanians for their cooperation and understanding of the numerous interventions adopted and implemented before the vaccine was made available to the rest of the world.
“Tanzanians have responded positively to the vaccine, and many are currently receiving it. The government will continue to bring other vaccines, with the second consignment from China expected on Friday,” she pointed out.
She added, “It was difficult for people to understand at first, but the situation is good now, with over 638,000 Tanzanians vaccinated by Monday, which is one of the successes of the ‘Rapid and Participatory National Covid-19 Immunization Campaign…we are doing in partnership with the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government, PO-RALG).”
According to the Government Chief Spokesperson, Mr Gerson Msigwa, Tanzania will receive the first consignment of 489,042 Sinopharm doses from China, and the second batch of 576,558 doses will be received later this month, as part of the Covax facility.
Pfizer, Janssen, Moderna, Sinopharm, and Sinovac are the five vaccines that the government has approved for usage in the country so far. Tanzania plans to vaccinate 60 per cent of its citizens, prompting the increase of vaccination centres from 550 to 6,784 for easy access to the public.
On July 24, this year, Tanzania received a total of 1,058,400 doses of vaccines provided by the United States and distributed through the Covax facility. The national immunization campaign began on July 29th this year, with President Samia Suluhu Hassan taking a jab.
In a related development, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa instructed regional commissioners to provide education and awareness on the importance of the vaccine.
The Premier noted that the government is doing all within its capacity to ensure the health of Tanzanians is highly protected, as a result of bringing the Covid-19 vaccines into the country.
