Chakwera launching the vaccination on March 11
* Blantyre DHO attributes this to wrong misconception some are having regarding AstraZeneca vaccine
* Targets Chichiri Prison on Saturday to reach out to over 1,000 prisoners
* Over 183,390 doses administered throughout the country since launch on March 11
By Mayamiko Phiri, Contributor & Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
Blantyre District Health Office (DHO) has expressed concern over dwindling number of people who are coming out for vaccination as compared to last month when it was officially rolled out by President Lazarus Chakwera on March 11.
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District medical officer Mirriam Jere Nyasulu said this during a weekly press briefing on Thursday, attributing this development to wrong misconception some are having regarding AstraZeneca vaccine.
She said officers on the ground will continue to sensitise the public to gain their confidence and come forward to get vaccinated.
Mirriam Jere Nyasulu
And in its quest to reach many people as much as possible, Nyasulu said Blantyre DHO medical personnel will on Saturday, April 10, visit Chichiri Prison for the vaccination exercise with a target of reaching out to over 1,000 prisoners.
Nyasulu also said the medical staff will be stationed at the prison’s neighbouring Chichiri Shopping Mall on the same day further called for those 18 and above who have not been vaccinated to get their jab as the process is now open for everyone.
As of Thursday, April 8, Blantyre DHO has managed to vaccinate over 31,913 people, among them healthcare and essential service providers.
COVID-19 vaccine awareness
Nationwide, the country has cumulatively given 183,390 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with 9,560 being administered in the past 24 hours of Thursday.
Also as of Thursday, over 7,938,436 vaccinations have been administered across the African continent.
Malawi registered 20 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, 144 new recoveries and no new deaths.
Coronavirus alert
Cumulatively, 31,140 cases have now recovered at a recovery rate of 92.3% while 134 were lost to follow-up — bringing the total number of active cases to 1,339.
Cumulatively, Malawi has recorded 33,738 cases including 1,125 deaths (case fatality rate at 3.33%).
As the positivity rate — at 3.8% as of Thursday — continues to fall, co-chairperson of the presidential taskforce, Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said in her situation report that there is still new cases being reported on daily basis.
Health Minister Kandodo Chiponda when she
received the AstraZeneca vaccine
Thus there is need to reduce the further spread of the pandemic by strictly adhering to all the preventive measures that have been put in place such as proper wearing of face masks.
“I would like to emphasize the need for all of us to strictly wear a face mask in all public places,” she said. “The use of face masks is part of a comprehensive package of the prevention and control measures that can limit the spread of certain respiratory viral diseases, including COVID-19.
“Face masks can be used either for protection of healthy persons (worn to protect oneself when in contact with an infected individual) or for source control (worn by an infected individual to prevent onward transmission).
“This is meant to break the chains of transmission and bringing the pandemic under control.
Malawi 20th from 55 countries
Meanwhile, as of April 8, confirmed COVID-19 cases from 55 African countries reached 4,299,710 with eported deaths reaching 114,586 while 3,866,990 people have recovered.
South Africa has the most reported cases — 1,553,609 from which 53,111 people died. Other most-affected countries are Morocco (499,688), Tunisia (264,994), Ethiopia (221,544), Egypt (207,293) and Libya (165,287).
The numbers are compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University using statistics from the World Health Organization and other international institutions as well as national and regional public health departments.
