Khomas region aims to vaccinate around 287 000 people against the Covid-19 by the end of end of March next year, Khomas governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua said yesterday.
Launching the region’s vaccination campaign, Katjirua said ever since they started with vaccination in region, a total of 79 800 people has been vaccinated with first dose, while a total of 53 160 have received their second dose.
She said the region currently has about 46 vaccination sites running, a clear demonstration of government commitment to expand our vaccination program and ensure equitable access to this essential lifesaving intervention.
According to McLeod-Katjirua, part of the observed low vaccination uptake is in part due to vaccine hesitancy, a frenzy largely driven by the idea of freedom of choice over common good.
“High Covid-19 vaccination coverage will translate in more relaxed restrictions, allowing our region to return to normality safely, whereas absolute and unrestrained freedom may prolong lockdown and other restrictions,” she said.
She said, to improve vaccine hesitancy, government has put various measures in place, including workplace vaccinations sites, mobile vaccination teams and risk communication, and the community engagement pillar is sharing credible Covid-19 information through radios, community engagement meetings, and educating households door-to-door and communities on the importance of vaccination, side-effects and other Covid-19 vaccination-related information to debunk misinformation.
Also, she said, a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach in dealing with the reach, messaging, and Covid-19 vaccination service delivery is being advocated across the board.
“Let us get vaccinated in large numbers, using existing vaccination sites/facilities,” she stressed.
She said, “The more of us are vaccinated, the more we will trample upon the Covid-19 virus, thus disarming all its weapons of mass distraction”.
She said, so far, the region has lost a total of 862 people due to Covid-19 since last year.
“Lately, we have seen a significant drop in the number of cases in Khomas region, and this can also be attributed to the fact that our people have taken up vaccination and continue to do so to protect themselves,” she
said.
She said, through various multidisciplinary team approaches, such as movement and travel restrictions, targeted vaccinations, communicating risks and engaging communities with credible information on Covid-19, improved case management and operational logistics, government managed to suffocate the virus.