In a break from his counterparts the world over, President Mokgweetsi Masisi will surrender the first place on the Covid-19 vaccination queue to the elderly and most vulnerable.
By his own account and analysis which is based on the Ministry of Health and Wellness’s vaccine roll out plan, President Masisi will likely not be the first Motswana to receive the COVID-19 jab. In other countries state leaders are the first to receive the COVID 19 jab, an exercise they claim is meant to encourage the general populace to be vaccinated.
In Botswana, Masisi told journalists in the capital Gaborone on Friday that as far as he knows the MoH and Task Team vaccination plan entails jabbing the most vulnerable and elderly.“There is a priority list of people to be injected. The last time I checked the list prioritised the most vulnerable and those a little older. In my last count I had not reached that age”, Masisi said.
He further said, “When my turn comes, my arm will be readier than ready. Whatever jab they say we get I will get exactly what everybody gets.”
Masisi’s self-prophecy on the vaccination comes at a time when the nation of Botswana awaits the COVID 19 vaccination roll out plan. He told journalists that MoH and the Task Team will announce in due course the locations and time for members of the public to get jabbed.
On Wednesday, MoH launched a vaccine campaign dubbed “ArmReady for Lomao” which seeks to ready the members of the public for the anticipated vaccination exercise.
Minister responsible for Health and Wellness Dr Edwin Dikoloti said at the launch that Botswana is on the eve of rolling out the COVID-19 vaccination and “to achieve this, communication becomes critical to ensuring that the leadership, community and stakeholders are informed, engaged and mobilized to elicit intended responses and outcomes.”
The vaccination campaign comes after some countries issued temporary bans on the use of AstraZeneca’s two-dose vaccine following reports of people developing blood clots shortly after vaccination. The World Health Organisation, scientific and medical experts however insist that the incidence of blood clots is actually much lower than in the general population and that the vaccine is safe. They worry that the AstraZeneca negative publicity will amplify vaccine hesitancy and increase potentially deadly COVID-19 infections. The science, they insist, is clear and should be trusted.
AstraZeneca is the only vaccines that Botswana has at the moment after receiving a donation from India some two weeks back. Botswana has recorded more than 31,128 confirmed cases and more than 458 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The country expects to receive further consignments of vaccines from China and African Union in two weeks’ time according to Vice President Slumber Tsogwane.
