Linekela Halwoodi

Erongo governor Neville Andre Itope received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination at the Swakopmund District Hospital on Monday morning.

The governor was accompanied by the Swapo Erongo coordinator Daniel Muhuura and a delegation of his staff, who also received the vaccination. The vaccination is administered in two doses, of which the second will be administered after 28 days, medical staff confirmed at the hospital.

During the briefing with the governor, senior medical officer Marita Mouton said the vaccine is currently only available to people who have not tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 90 days and this is because studies have not been conducted to determine the safety of administering the vaccine to people who were recently infected or how they will react to the vaccination.

Additionally, regional health director Dr Amir Shaker said the hospital has not detected any worrisome reactions to the vaccination – and that only one case was reported in which someone, who was prone to skin allergies, had shown symptoms of an allergic reaction to the vaccination, although it was not alarming.