Northern traditional leaders expressed concern over the low vaccination update in northern regions as well as the high hesitancy and misinformation around the Covid-19 vaccination.

The Oukwanyama Traditional Authority chairperson Elias Uaandja said whatever conspiracy theorists say, you cannot ignore the fact that vaccination remains one of the most reliable methods of containing viruses and ultimately preventing infectious diseases.

“We can control the virus ourselves. The virus does not run by itself; it is being transmitted from person to person. People are carrying it and giving it to others. I want to urge the country at large to believe what the health officials are telling us and follow it,” he added.

Etilyasa senior councillor, who is also Ongandjera Traditional Authority spokesperson, Sackeus Shiimi Shangula explained that vaccines help our body to learn to fight the virus well before the infection. 

“Vaccination also helps prevent severe illness or hospitalisation in an event of exposure to Covid-19,” he said.

He further said, with the availability of safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines, multiple efforts from the governments have been made to strengthen and equip our health delivery mechanisms for the swift rollout of the vaccine.

Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula last week said 81% of new infections, 97% hospital admissions, 94% ICU admissions and 91% Covid-19 deaths between 1 and 11 January are of the unvaccinated population.

Kaleb Hamwele, chairperson of Ombadja Traditional Authority, added that vaccination is the right thing to do to protect and shield ourselves and our loved ones from irreparable harm and risks posed by the pandemic. 

“We should count ourselves lucky. Our government is trying to protect us from the deadly virus,” he said.

A former headman in Uukwambi, who spoke to New Era on condition of anonymity, said Namibians run to hospitals and clinics when not feeling well, where sometimes they get injected but they do not refuse.

“Why are you scared of getting vaccinated? We have been treated without any ideas of what types of drugs we are getting from nurses and doctors,” stressed the former headman.

He said citizens should make it their responsibility to curb the spread of Covid-19, rather than spreading wrong information.

“Namibians should take the necessary precautions to prevent themselves and others from the virus,” he advised.

In a recent interview with Nampa, chief of Ombalantu Traditional Authority Oswin Mukulu expressed concern over vaccine hesitancy.

“Vaccination is not new; it has been in existence even before independence. It has been there for the protection against different diseases and viruses, and this one is no different. People must see it through that light. I want to encourage people to go get vaccinated; the same way they got vaccinated or immunised against other diseases. The vaccine is there to protect against a virus; it offers you strength to fight the pandemic,” he said. - vkaapanda@nepc.com.na