Africa-Press – Zambia. Poor turnout has characterized some health centers in Lusaka following the commencement of administering of booster vaccines and vaccination of children aged 12 years and above.
A check by Phoenix News at Chelstone and University Of Zambia Health Center found the facilities isolated with a few people seen going for their booster vaccines with no children seen, while at Kalingalinga clinic, only 2 children visited the facility with their parents to be vaccinated.
This was after health minister Sylvia Masebo announced last week that administering of booster vaccines for people who earlier received the covid-19 vaccinations and vaccination of children would commence on December 27th, 2021.
And speaking during the daily covid-19 update, health minister Sylvia Masebo reiterated that the administering of booster vaccines and vaccines for children have commenced today and that reports indicate a good response from the general public.
Ms. Masebo said the vaccination of children over the age of 12 years is because of the many covid-19 cases in children that the country has continued recording, which has in some cases led to loss of lives.
And Ms Masebo disclosed that the country has in the last 24 hours recorded a total of 1,356 new covid-19 cases out of 4,449 tests conducted countrywide with 7 deaths recorded.
Meanwhile, people eligible for the COVID-19 booster vaccine have been trooping to vaccination centres to get the jab as the exercise commenced yesterday. And a check in selected Covid vaccination sites revealed that children aged between 12 and 18 were also getting the jab.
And Levy Mwanawasa Teaching Hospital Head of Clinical Care Dr. Aggrey Mwemba has urged members of the general public to stop shunning the Covid-19 vaccination.
Dr. Mwemba has told QTV news that Covid-19 is very serious and that the rising numbers in new cases should be a motivating factor for those who have not been vaccinated to do so.
He explained that though the vaccine is not a guarantee of not contracting the virus, the level of severity of the disease is far much better for those who have taken the dose due to their boosted immune systems.
And Dr. Mweemba has warned that if people continue to shun vaccination, the prevailing fourth wave is heading in the direction of the third wave at its peak when the ICU section of the Isolation Ward at the Levy Mwanawasa Teaching Hospital was full to capacity.
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