Ministry says 'not yet' to second booster
Namibia has not yet started the administration of the fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccines, that is the second 'booster shot'.
With 126 new Covid-19 cases recorded in the country in the past week, the head of the Covid-19 task force, Petronella Masabane, said the health ministry will continue to follow global studies in this regard.
"The moment scientific evidence about the fourth dose is available, the public will be informed about the way forward and regarding Namibia's position and plans," she said.
Currently, the positivity rate stands at 19.1%. The number of tests decreased by 23% compared to the previous week. Cases were reported in 11 regions of the country, while two deaths - two men from Onandjokwe and Rundu respectively - were recorded over this period.
So far, 580 731 Namibians have received a first dose of the vaccine, while 503 839 have been fully vaccinated. This amounts to 28.3% of the target population of 1.79 million.
According to Masabane, no new cases of the Kraken variant, a sub-variant of Omicron, have been recorded in Namibia since December.
On availability, Masabane said given the current uptake of vaccines, the country still has enough in stock. For Sinopharm, there are currently 20 420 vaccines in stock, while AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson stocks stand at 18 900 and 3 780 respectively. Stock of Pfizer doses have been exhausted, but a shipment is expected in March.
Because immunisation against Covid-19 is part of the national expanded immunisation plan, vaccines are available at all primary healthcare clinics across the country.
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With 126 new Covid-19 cases recorded in the country in the past week, the head of the Covid-19 task force, Petronella Masabane, said the health ministry will continue to follow global studies in this regard.
"The moment scientific evidence about the fourth dose is available, the public will be informed about the way forward and regarding Namibia's position and plans," she said.
Currently, the positivity rate stands at 19.1%. The number of tests decreased by 23% compared to the previous week. Cases were reported in 11 regions of the country, while two deaths - two men from Onandjokwe and Rundu respectively - were recorded over this period.
So far, 580 731 Namibians have received a first dose of the vaccine, while 503 839 have been fully vaccinated. This amounts to 28.3% of the target population of 1.79 million.
According to Masabane, no new cases of the Kraken variant, a sub-variant of Omicron, have been recorded in Namibia since December.
On availability, Masabane said given the current uptake of vaccines, the country still has enough in stock. For Sinopharm, there are currently 20 420 vaccines in stock, while AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson stocks stand at 18 900 and 3 780 respectively. Stock of Pfizer doses have been exhausted, but a shipment is expected in March.
Because immunisation against Covid-19 is part of the national expanded immunisation plan, vaccines are available at all primary healthcare clinics across the country.
– [email protected]
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