March 12, 2021
By: James Kamara-Manneh
The Spokesperson for the National COVID-19 Emergency Response Center (NaCOVERC), Solomon Jamiru allays the fear of Sierra Leonean citizens that the Sino vaccine is safe and effective. He made this statement on the 11th March 2021, at the weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Information and Communications, 8th Floor, Youyi Building, Freetown.
Mr. Jamiru said the vaccine is good, noting that historic evidence has proven that this reliance had being the breakthrough in dealing with over twenty contagious diseases.
He called on the members of the press to help sensitize the public on the need and importance of this roll out process that will soon commence.
He spoke about building and sustaining public trust, and as a government, they have always counted on the media to mobilize support, to put out the right information, to defuse the misinformation. He stressed that vaccination is important to the extent that it can protect us and our communities.
“The purpose for this vaccination roll out is that we don’t want to reach a point where Sierra Leone will be consider as a red zone or listed a country with high risks,” the NaCOVERC spokesperson said.
He acknowledged that in light of the limited supply; the vaccine cannot reach every citizen and that is the reason for prioritizing the distribution, targeting the vulnerable, especially frontline workers, old person, persons in morbid condition. He said this category of persons will be the first point of consideration, and as time goes one more vaccines will be shipped in country to be extended to many Sierra Leoneans.
He intimated Press men of a strategic roll-out plan for the Covid-19 vaccination; describing it as a delicate process that warrants proper planning. One of the underpinning strategies he mentioned are safety and efficacy. He stressed the point that both vaccines have undergone thorough relevant clinical trial by World Health Organization (WHO).
The spokesperson revealed that the first rollout plans will commenced on the Monday 15th March, 2021. It will be followed by a launch of High Profile Vaccination at State House and a follow up at the Miatta Conference grounds.
Though the Spokesperson did not name names, he hinted that within the framework of persons of higher political class will be vaccinated and there will be so much visibility; due to that, things will become clearer.
Mr. Jamiru said 50 areas have been identified nationwide for the vaccination process; various districts will be having two static sites and mobile site, whereas the Western Area will have 8 sites.
“The world has been craving for vaccine to end this pandemic; today is a question of access, equitable distribution of the vaccine. Therefore the government of Sierra Leone is partnering with World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI).”
He also disclosed that the country has been able to access 96,000 doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine out of an initial 526,000 possibly in the first phase of the vaccination process from COVERC to Sierra Leone.
However, Sierra Leone happens to be the 9th country in Africa that is receiving such donation. Complimenting this, the country has been able to receive from the People’s Republic of China huge dosage of vaccine over recent times. It is on the basis of this limited vaccines supply that NaCOVERC, Ministry of Health and our Partners have done priority distribution plan.
This press conference marks exactly a year since the world Health Organization declared Convid-19 a pandemic and a disease of global concern. The world has recorded 118 million cases and over two million six hundred thousand death including 79 deaths in Sierra Leone.