March 16, 2021
By: Mohamed M. Sesay
In what has been described as leading by example, His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has yesterday 15th March submitted to the COVID 19 inoculation provided by Sino-pharm China. Other opposition leaders have also taken the vaccine.
The vaccination exercise which took place at State House saw the Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jallon, the ECOWAS Speaker Sidi Mohamed Tunis, the Speaker of Sierra Leone Parliament Dr. Abass Bundu, the Freetown City Mayor, the leadership of the main opposition All Peoples’ Party and Ministers of government were all vaccinated.
After submitting to the vaccine jab, His Excellency President Bio acknowledged that the novel Coronavirus is a sickness that is affecting the world and countries across the globe have been fighting the pandemic in different ways by putting restrictive and preventives measures in place. President Bio confirmed that the vaccine is now available and it has been tested and other countries have commenced their own massive vaccination exercises.
“With some medicines when you take it, there are normally side effects such as headache, body ache etc. I have taken the Covid-19 vaccine and I just want Sierra Leoneans to have the confidence and also know that we need to take the vaccines. I also want to give confidence that the vaccine is good, it is safe and it is also efficient that is why I decided to take the leadership to be vaccinated first”, said President Bio.
President also extended profound thanks to the COVERC facilities across the country and also countries especially China for providing two hundred thousand (200,000) doses of the covid-19 Sino-pharm vaccine for Sierra Leone. President further warned that the fight against Covid-19 is not over until everybody is vaccinated.
President Bio recalled that when Covid-19 finally entered into the country, he promised citizens that they would fight the virus together adding that, the structures and systems put in place towards the fight against the covid-19 have been recognized around the world and the country has received international accolade for the fight against the covid-19. He added that it is a million mile stone at this stage of the fight against covid-19 now that the country has the vaccine. He concluded that with a concerted effort, the country would put an end to covid-19 scourge the soonest.
The Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh reiterated that the vaccines are very safe, very strong and that he happened to be the second person to have taken the vaccine all in a quest to send a strong message to the people of Sierra Leone that they have taken the vaccine and therefore let the citizens also be vaccinated. Dr. Juldeh Jalloh equally warned that irrespective of the massive vaccination exercise, people should not flout the covid-19 existing preventive measures.
Vice President Jalloh believed that the vaccine is a good starting point in ending the coronavirus in a not too distant future. He further stated that the country has started seen light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the massive vaccination drive and therefore extended thanks to the development partners especially the Peoples’ Republic of China for their indelible support towards Sierra Leone. He also concluded by encouraging Sierra Leoneans to follow their footstep and take the vaccine without any hesitation adding that, all the measures for the rolling out of the vaccine have been put in place by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.
Giving his declaration of purpose, the Minister of Health and Sanitation Dr. Austin Demby noted that with the leadership of the President, the country now has two Arsenals which would prepare the country to get ahead of the novel coronavirus pandemic instead of reacting to the pandemic. He added that the country has shown resilience and with the two new sets of efficacious covid-19 vaccines, the country is on course to contain the virus.
Austin Demby continued that the country is now proud of two hundred thousand (200,000) doses of Sinopharm Vaccines generously donated by the government of the Peoples’ Republic of China
He reaffirmed confidence in the fact that the Sinopharm Vaccines have been very much instrumental in curtailing the covid-19 virus in China and in other countries. He also stated that the country has also received ninety-six thousand doses of the first batch of the five hundred and twenty-eight thousand (528,000) doses of Astra Zeneca vaccines.
Minister Demby added that, despite the country has 296,000 doses of vaccines, they would be able to enroll just under 150,000 individuals because there are two different vaccines given 21 and 28 days apart.
He continued that they are going to prioritize Healthcare workers, political leaders, social workers, teachers and lecturers, the military, the police, customs and immigration workers including seaports and airports, prison officers, fire force and people over seventy years of age. He concluded that the nationwide covid-19 vaccination exercise would take place in all districts across the country starting Monday the 21 of March 2021. Each district are expected to operate two static site and one mobile team with the exception of Western Urban which is to maintain four static sites.