Nangombe: No fake vaccines in Namibia
WINDHOEK – The Ministry of Health and Social Services has assured Namibians that the Coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines that are being administered in the country are not part of the fake vaccines that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recalled last week.
The WHO on Tuesday issued a medical alert about fake Covishield Covid-19 vaccine doses being reported in South-East Asia and parts of Africa.
The WHO said the fake vaccine shots were reported to it in July and August, and that the Covishield manufacturer, Serum Institute of India, had confirmed that the products listed in the alert are fake.
The WHO called for the removal of such vaccines from circulation, citing that it poses a serious risk to global public health. In a media statement on Thursday, the health ministry’s executive director Ben Nangombe said all consignments of Covid-19 vaccine batch numbers received in Namibia have been verified.
The ministry can thus confirm that none of the vaccines in the country are among the falsified batch numbers reported by the WHO.
“The safety of our people remains a priority, and we would like to emphasise that all pharmaceuticals, including vaccines received in the country, are carefully checked and go through a vigorous authentication process before authorisation,” he stressed.
Nangombe added that the ministry is in constant contact with the WHO office in Namibia to share relevant information related to matters of health at national, regional, continental and global levels. “As the country continues to receive more vaccines, the ministry and relevant regulatory bodies remain vigilant in ensuring that all vaccines received are safe.
We encourage more Namibians to go out in numbers and get vaccinated,” he continued. Namibia is currently administering only two Covid-19 vaccines, namely the AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines. By Friday, a total of 198 429 people had received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, while 93 647 had received the two full doses.