Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, the minister of health of The Gambia has recently told Kairaba News Network that one hundred and forty-six thousand twenty-seven (146,27) individuals have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus pandemic of which 19,000 have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccines.

Speaking to this medium, Dr. Samateh said, 168,947 individuals have received some forms of vaccination in the country of which 146,27 have been fully vaccinated. “This represents 9.2% of the target population. We still have a long way to go to be able to get the target population to be vaccinated. We need to have a certain percentage of coverage for us to say we have ‘hard immunity’ in the country and for us to say our people are safe in the country,” he said.

 He said coronavirus is still in the country and people need to take preventive measures at all times. “We are now witnessing the third wave which experts warned could be deadlier. People are still dying from the coronavirus. I think any disease that kills people is a serious disease. The people of this country should take the disease very seriously,” he said.

Dr Samateh was speaking to this medium after the ministry received the donation of 38,400 doses of AstraZeneca from the French government. He said the AstraZeneca Vaccines was the first vaccine that they received in this country and many people have taken their first dose of the vaccines.

 “These people have been waiting for the second dose but there was a scarcity of the vaccines in the country. The time we were expecting the vaccines they were not available due to the escalation of the coronavirus cases in India where the vaccines are manufactured. The vaccines that were manufactured the Indian government used for their people.”

He added that the 19,000 people who get their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccines will now be given their second dose to be fully protected from the pandemic. He called on the individuals who took their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccines to go and get the second dose. The remaining vaccines will be given to other people for their first dose.

“I don’t think there is anyone in this country who is not affected by the pandemic directly or indirectly. Coronavirus is just like Malaria. We have never seen the virus; it is only the doctors and lab operators who have seen it with the help of the microscope.

We have diseases such as common cold, malaria, coughing etc. But we have never seen those viruses. If the people who have the knowledge inform us that coronavirus is real, we should believe in them and follow the guidelines so that we can be protected and our families and friends will also be protected,” Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, health minister said.

Samateh said there is a lot of patience in the treatment centers who are in critical conditions. He added that people should not doubt the existence of the coronavirus pandemic. He further said people are hearing the number of deaths caused by the covid-19 on a daily basis.

“We should all be vaccinated to be safe. Vaccinations have been going on in this country for years. We all know that whoever gives birth to a child, the child will be given vaccines until he or she reaches five (5) years. We have defeated many preventable diseases through the use of vaccines in this country,” he said.

The Gambian health minister assured the public that the vaccines are very safe and effective. He urged people to avoid spreading misleading information about the vaccines.

He said people also failed to understand that there are no vaccines in the world that do not have side effects but these effects are just minor and they cannot cause harm to the person. He noted most of the people after taking the vaccines will experience side effects like fever, headache, dizziness and so on but these are minor effects.

“All the vaccines are good and we have both of them in the country now, people will take the vaccines they want. I took the AstraZeneca vaccines when the Johnson and Johnson was not discovered.

The president, cabinet ministers, and religious leaders also took the same vaccines. What I will tell people is that every good leader wishes good things for the people he or she led. No good leader will wish bad for the people he or she led. We will not bring any vaccines that will affect the people because they will also suffer if they are affected.

He stated that was the reason why the president took the lead on the vaccination campaign to let people know that the vaccines are safe and effective. “If these vaccines were not good, we will not take them because we are also having families. We have hope that these vaccines will help our people and that is why we put hands on deck to make sure we have the vaccines,” he said.

 

By Dawda Baldeh