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.
Vaccine hesitancy will be a major problem for Zambia and Africa as a whole. Because of the low vaccination rates in Zambia , covid -19 will have the opportunity to mutate to a more dangerous variant. The world will keep on postponing its much desired return to normal life.
Get vaccinated now for a better future
Politicians are not trusted in Zambia, they are all seen as liars, regardless of the party or whether they are in government or opposition. So Sylvia Masebo making a statement? Doesn’t work, nobody will believe her. And I had to travel to Chongwe hospital for NINE times before I finally got a jab – not going to do that again!
The MOH is not serious. You so quick to request to go for jabs yet the MOH has never reported on the transitional state of the immunity of the inoculated citizens. If there is no such information how do we get the guts come jabs? We are reading alot of immunity system run away to negatives after 6months of inoculated in the western countries. So in Zambia what is the tread.
As you usual mediocrity in mediocrity out, you are takking about boosters. What are you going to boost when you dont ve information on the vaccinated people’s immunity systems? Last week as usual, just because the western countries have started jabbing kids you also fall for it with proper data analysed.
Please do not subject our innocent kids to these unproven so callef vaccines.
BaMasebo with your ministry…
This was not the case under the mighty pf govt because people trusted us. Now you have upnd govt whose party leadership and president kisses the western worlds backsides so how can people trust them to procure safe vaccine
This was not the case under the mighty pf govt because people trusted us. Now you have upnd govt whose party Ieadership and president kisses the western worlds backsides so how can people trust them to procure safe vaccine
This was not the case under the mlghty pf govt because people trusted us. Now you have u.p.nd govt whose party Ieadershlp and presldent klsses the western worlds backsldes so how can people trust them to pr0cure safe vaccine
Covid vaccines are the only medicines available in hospitals and clinics country wide. Like we should be jabbing it for malaria too
Zambians think they can just pray and get healed if they get covid. Ubututu bwaliipaya ichalo chesu.
I have watched in utter amusement has politicians have tried needlessly to capture science and twist it to their whims. This, unfortunately, will not work because there is also the close relative called conspiracy theory. For every political bungle there is a conspiracy theory and science is the loser. Call this so-called vaccine a booster so that you can schedule it appropriately. Manyazi ndiye untu, si teto aBemba?