Swanu leader Tangeni Iijambo believes President Hage Geingob should be the first Namibian to be inoculated against Covid-19 once the early batch of doses arrive in the country. According to Iijambo, this will maximise trust and confidence in the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme. 

“There is a need for maximum transparency due to lingering concerns, confusion, doubts and uncertainty in a sea of disinformation, lies, conspiracy theories, fake news and hidden agendas on mainstream and social media as to the efficacy and even the safety of the vaccines available on the market,” Iijambo told journalists yesterday. 

The Swanu parliamentarian also suggested that members of both houses of parliament should volunteer to be among the first to be vaccinated, “as a demonstration that they are fully and well-informed about the safety of the vaccines and create public trust and confidence in the exercise”. 

Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula was not available for comment yesterday afternoon. Shangula last month said the country had secured a Covid-19 vaccine for health workers and the vulnerable, which was due to arrive this month.  
According to Shangula, the national vaccine taskforce was busy at work to put mechanisms and logistics in place to roll out the vaccine.  
Shangula explained that the government will prioritise frontline healthcare workers, the vulnerable and severe Covid-19 patients once the vaccine becomes available. 

Media reports, however, yesterday suggested Namibia is only expected to take delivery of the first batch of Covid-19 vaccine doses sometime next month and not this month as initially declared by the health authorities. 

NEFF enters fray
Meanwhile, the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) called on Shangula not to rush into vaccinating Namibians against Covid-19. NEFF national coordinator Kalimbo Iipumbu urged Shangula to first ensure that the vaccine is safe and it would not harm Namibians. 
“We are curiously warning our minister of health that by acquiring this said vaccine there must be proper evidence that this vaccine may not harm the nation; he must be careful, he should not be in a hurry to try these vaccines without total research,” Iipumbu told journalists yesterday.
– ljason@nepc.com.na