AfricaPress-Tanzania: The African Union’s Economic Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) Secretariat, ECOSOCC in collaboration with the African Development Bank and the Africa CDC, has embarked on a continental COVID-19 Vaccination Sensitization campaign.
Aimed at ensuring that the wider African public has access to verified information on the COVID-19 vaccine from authoritative sources in the African public health community.
Given the transmissibility of the virus combined with its capacity to mutate into different andmore resistant strains, public health experts agree that vaccination remains the only realistic pathto finally halting the spread of the virus.
Opening the webinar series, ECOSOCC Acting Presiding Officer, Mr. Denise Kodhe said thevarious vaccines that recently underwent clinical and regulatory tests, proven to be safe andeffective by the world’s leading drug regulatory authorities had renewed Africa’s hopes ofending the pandemic and getting back to normal.
He commended the African Union for safeguarding lives in Africa through Africa CDC byprocuring 1.27 billion doses of vaccines estimated to be enough to vaccinate about 60% ofAfrica’s population.
The webinar had a high level panel that included Dr. John Nkengasong, Africa CDC Director,Dr. Moumini Niaone, Executive Director, Pull For Progress and Dr. Serge Kodom, Founder-President, AIMES Afrique.
Dr. Nkengasong gave an overview of the COVID-19 situation in Africa, including the AfricaCDC`s COVID 19 response and the current distribution of the vaccines.
He stated that over 105,000 people in Africa had died of COVID-19 since February 2020. Heemphasized that for Africa to beat the pandemic, there was need for a multilateral approach inaddition to getting vaccinated.
The panelists assured the continent that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and should be takenwithout fear as they had gone through rigourous safety procedures and testing. Further, givingperspectives from the CSOs Dr. Niaone and Dr. Kodom, highlighted interventions theirorganisations were carrying out to halt the pandemic.
“A lot of us have had our doubts about the vaccine but it is through consultations, and toughdiscussions with the health professionals that we can get reassuring answers“ said ECOSOCC
Secretariat Principal Coordinator, William Carew in his closing remarks. “I want to commendthe Africa CDC on its leadership in acquiring a high quota of vaccines for Africa. “
The webinar series on COVID-19 Vaccines, an initiative of ECOSOCC, in collaboration withAfrica CDC and AfDB will run through to June 2021, as the roll out of vaccines begins thismonth across Africa
