A campaign aimed at strengthening vaccination efforts throughout Windhoek by taking the Covid-19 vaccine to the masses has seen residents and vendors stream to the new site.
“I got vaccinated to protect my loved ones, and it is the right thing to do because some of my family members have other conditions which might be made worse if they contract Covid-19”, were the sentiments of a meat vendor who only wants to be named Paulus at Oshetu Market, popularly known as Single Quarters in Katutura.
He decided to be vaccinated when the Office of the First Lady set up a vaccination pop-up site at the market this week.
Under the banner #LOVE
Protects, in collaboration with the City of Windhoek, OmniCare Trust and Vaccines for Hope, 329 doses of both Sinopharm and AstraZeneca were administered on Wednesday at the Single Quarters during the second of the campaign’s series of pop-up activations.
AstraZeneca was administered to 80 residents, while 249 opted for Sinopharm. The Love Protects Campaign kicked off on 16 June 2021 as an intervention intended to challenge misinformation and provide the public with credible and accurate information regarding Covid-19 vaccinations, the third wave, and the global pandemic’s impact, amongst others.
It is of importance to tell the public that vaccines prevent severe illness and death, and assure them that the vaccines are safe, said Dr Kaveto Sikuvi, an emergency medicine specialist lead in Namibia’s Case Management National Covid-19
Task Force. The first activation site was at the Katutura Industrial Stalls, where 118 Namibians were vaccinated.
The third will be taking place at the Soweto Market on 15 September. The team’s target for all nine activations is to vaccinate at least 100 eligible individuals. Among other queries on the day, members of the public were eager to know the suitability of the vaccines to immunocompromised, pregnant and/or breastfeeding persons.
“Present clinical data does not suggest that vaccines are unsafe for pregnant, breastfeeding and immunocompromised persons. People with these profiles, including those on medication (such as ARVs), are encouraged to get vaccinated unless they are experiencing active disease,” shared Sikuvi. He advised that consumption of alcohol is discouraged within 24 hours of receiving a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The Love Protects campaign aims to help strengthen vaccination efforts by setting activations throughout Windhoek and various settlements from 1 September 2021 to 27 October 2021.
First Lady Monica Geingos, who was impressed with the turnout of people interested in being vaccinated, said the reason might be because of the poor rollout of the inoculation.
She was also pleased to see men and the elderly fill up the queues, as they make up the majority of Covid-19 deaths in Namibia.