Health experts say once the Covid-19 vaccine will be accompanied by a surveillance system which to observe any side effects that may occur once it rolls out.
Responding to a question during a virtual media briefing on Covid-19 Vaccines hosted by Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust (MLW) yesterday, the institution’s vaccinologist Dr Latif Ndeketa said the surveillance is a procedure that takes place with all vaccine administered in the country and globally.
Speaking on whether the AstraZeneca Vaccine which Malawi has settled for and is set to roll out next month gives immediate protection from the virus, MLW senior clinical lecturer in critical care medicine Dr Ben Morton said after getting vaccinated, the immune system takes at least three weeks to respond.
He said: “In the meantime, people will be required to behave in a safe way and continue to follow all the Covid-19 precautionary measures because they can still catch the virus within the first three weeks after getting the vaccine.”
On his part, MLW immunologist Dr Kondwani Jambo, while stating that people who recovered from Covid-19 are also eligible for the vaccine, said it is currently not known whether a person who has been vaccinated can still transmit coronavirus.
He said: “This aspect is still under investigation, but we hope that the results will indicate that transmission from a vaccinated person should be greatly reduced.”
Ministry of Health’s manager for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation Dr Mike Chisema, said the vaccine is administered in two doses, four weeks apart.
While emphasising that the first batch will only reach 20 percent of Malawi’s population, including frontline healthcare workers, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, he said no one will be forced to take it.
On his part, Ministry of Health acting deputy director for Health Education Services Mavuto Thomas said government will soon start implementing a communication plan on the vaccine which, among other things, seeks to dispel myths and misconceptions about the vaccine.
On Sunday, President Lazarus Chakwera indicated that the first consignment of the AstraZeneca Vaccine, which has been developed by the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, will arrive towards the end of this month for roll out in March.
