Mbabane: The minister of health Lizzie Nkosi has stated that COVID-19 vaccination is open to all emaSwati aged 18 and above.
The minister said this on Thursday through a statement, updating the nation on the vaccination rollout program.
The minister stated that people are expected to register for the vaccines using the COVID-19 vaccination registration link: www.eswatinihealth.org.
Nkosi also stated that the ministry of health is expecting a delivery of 302 400 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine donated by the government of the United States of America through the COVAX facility dose sharing mechanism by the end of July.
With these doses, the ministry will target all frontline workers across the different sectors of the economy
The minister also stated that the target is to administer all these doses by the end of August.
From the beginning of August, the minister said the government will be receiving tranches of the AstraZeneca vaccines which will total 170 000 doses by the end of August and 100 620 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine by the end of September.
“These doses will be used to continue with the age tearing vaccination approach targeting the remaining 50 years and above and will continue moving along the age categories until we have covered the entire eligible population. We request the population not to panic as we have enough vaccination to cover the eligible population and we urge for patience as we await the delivery of these vaccines and steadily go through the vaccination campaign which will ensure nobody is missed,” reads the statement.
“We have partnered with various sector organizations to support in terms of identifying and registering frontline workers to enable us to identify the optimal locations for vaccination sites and plan the rapid deployment of teams to cover the group as fast as possible.”
The minister stated that Government has been working with the private sector since the beginning of the COVID-19 response. To fast track the rollout of vaccines, particularly in the month of August, the government will be using different avenues which include but are not limited to Tinkhundla centers, the government fixed clinics, private sector clinics, and others.
As of July 22, 2021, the country had about 21 888 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and 735 deaths. in its daily reports, on July 22, 2021, about 861 tests were conducted and 144 were confirmed positive, worth noting is that 5 deaths were also recorded.
The ministry of health continues to warn people that there was a notable increase in the daily number of confirmed cases hence the country was experiencing a third wave. The public is always urged to adhere to all regulations to prevent a possible spread of the virus.
The Ministry continues to urge the public to continue adhering to all health measures given by the ministry of health and the World Health Organization which includes washing hands with running water and soap, avoid unnecessary movements, practice social distancing.
Discussion about this post