1.8m Covid vaccine doses administered
Malawi has administered over 1.8 million assorted Covid-19 vaccine doses since the vaccination campaign rolled out on March 11 last year.
Statistics from the Public Health Institute of Malawi (Phim) shows that as of Tuesday this week, a total of 1 891 088 doses had been administered comprising AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson (J and J) and the Pfizer vaccines.
As of Tuesday, 1 098 898 and 399 078 people had received the first and second dose of AstraZeneca while 382 644 had received J and J and 10 124 and 344 had received the first and second doses of the Pfizer, respectively.
A total of 782 066 people were fully vaccinated representing 4.1 percent out of the targeted 60 percent or 11 million population.
Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 co-chairperson Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said in a statement on Tuesday that vaccination remains the biggest public health intervention.
She said: “As for Covid-19 vaccines, they have proven to be safe and effective in reducing the risk of developing severe disease, risk of hospitalisation and deaths from Covid-19.
“Apart from the vaccinations there is need for each one of us [regardless of being vaccinated or not] to strictly adhere to the Covid-19 preventive and containment measures.”
Chiponda, who is also Minister of Health, expressed concerns that many people are not adhering to the preventive and containment measures especially during social events.
She said now that the country is observing a downward trend in the number of positive cases, there is need to collectively push hard and strictly observe the preventive measures to reduce further spread of the virus.
In an interview yesterday, infectious disease expert and epidemiologist Titus Divala said updating the level of restrictions and the amount of precautions to the public to that life cannot be restricted forever with individual and personal economy.
However, he said these changes have to be done in an organised manner and in line with progress of the epidemic and national policy.
“The number to look at is the positivity rate which gives an indication of the chance that the person next to you may have the virus.
“That positivity peaked at 43 percent and is now down to six percent meaning the situation has improved massively but it probably is not yet at the level to trigger a change in national policy,” Divala said.
He said while people can now do more with the lower positivity rate, vaccination remains important including wearing of face masks, especially in crowded places.
During the first quarter of this year, Malawi is expecting to get 388 000 doses of the J and J vaccine, 396 000 doses of AstraZeneca and 714 000 doses of Pfizer.
A majority of vaccines the country has been receiving have been made available through the Covax Facility which is a global initiative intended to secure equitable access to vaccines.
The facility is led by the World Health Organisation and supported by partners such as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and United Nations Children’s Fund.
As of Tuesday, Malawi recorded 84 876 cases including 2 575 deaths and 71 090 recoveries. In total, active cases were at 10 979.
