By Kruah Thompson (Intern)
Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Minister of Health, Doctor Francis Kateh observes that people who took the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine from May 1, to June 2021 are not turning out for the second jab.
“We know that there were people who took the AstraZeneca; they are not willing to come back and take their second dose”, says Doctor Kateh.
Speaking with OK FM Tuesday in Monrovia he said there are enough of the AstraZeneca vaccines in the country and there are available, but cautioned those vaccines to have an expiration date.
On the other hand, he reveals that people are basically turning out very well for Johnson & Johnson, but unfortunately for people who took the first dose of the AstraZeneca, turnout is less.
The Chief Medical Officer calls on Liberians to please make themselves available for the second dose of the vaccine, warning that if the vaccine expired, it will become useless.
“We cannot use them therefore, if those vaccines are damaged, it becomes difficult to replenish them.”
According to him, donors prioritize countries based on their consumption of the vaccine, and that this is what led to the delay in getting the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the country.
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He further warns, “If you missed your second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, this means you are not going to build your full immunity and if you do not build your full immunity, it’s definitely a waste in taking the first dose.”
The deputy minister of health notes that with full immunity one should rest assure his or her system is prepared to fight the coronavirus vigorously.
“So I’m begging and appealing to everyone that had taken the AstraZeneca vaccine to come out for the second dose.”
Meanwhile, he reveals that in a couple of weeks there will be a re-evaluation of the system and strategy put in place by the ministry to combat the pandemic, adding we look forward to being brought down again to level two.
Between June and July, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention ranked Liberia’s COVID infection rate at Level 5 but the CDC has been reversing the ranking due to improvements made by the Government of Liberia.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/current-astrazeneca-vaccines-expire-saturday/ Editing by Jonathan Browne
