Shangula assures public coronavirus vaccine is safe
Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula has assured members of the public that the Covid-19 vaccine that Namibia is preparing to procure is safe and is undergoing rigorous medical scrutiny.
In an interview with Nampa on Monday, Shangula noted that misinformation is being spread on social media about the safety of the vaccine.
Amongst others, some of the misinformation is that the vaccine contains poison, while some even believe that it will be used to spread HIV.
Shangula says all these are baseless allegations, spread by people who do not have the best interest of the nation at heart.
“The vaccine went through rigorous medical process to ensure that it is not only effective in preventing the virus, but also to ensure that it does not harm people. This is fake news intended to create fear and panic among the nation and should not be believed. The fake news should be rejected,” the minister said.
Shangula added that he is confident that the health ministry will dispel the rumours as effectively as it did the misinformation that was being spread about the pandemic itself at the beginning of the year.
“We have seen a lot of fake news about the pandemic itself and we were able to dispel it through the Covid-19 news centre, where we brought in experts to inform the public and provide correct information about the pandemic itself. We managed to give correct information to the extent that almost everyone understands the pandemic, and this took away the fears that people had,” Shangula noted, adding that the ministry will use the same strategy to ensure that they alleviate any fear around the vaccine.
In November, the minister confirmed that Namibia has earmarked funds for the procurement of the vaccine through the COVAX global Covid-19 vaccine distribution scheme co-led by the World Health Organisation. At the time the ministry’s executive director Ben Nangombe said government envisages vaccinating 20% of the population, prioritising healthcare workers and vulnerable populations.
- Nampa