COVID-19: OVER 5,000 HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, ELDERLY VACCINATED IN ANGOLA

 Luanda - At least 5300 people, among health professionals and elderly people, were vaccinated against Covid-19, this Tuesday, in Luanda.

These were 4,450 health professionals and 850 elderly people and people with comorbidities, who have been attended to since last Saturday, as part of the mass vaccination campaign.

In four days of the campaign in the country, which began in the Angolan capital, 11,469 people have been vaccinated. The operation will take place in Luanda throughout the week, at the vaccination centre set up at the Paz Flor Tourist Complex.

The centre, with capacity to vaccinate 6,000 people per day, operates with 48 technicians and has capacity to vaccinate around 3,000 people per day.

According to the health authorities, after Luanda, it is followed by professionals from the provinces of Benguela and Cabinda. The three provinces have the highest number of active cases of Covid-19.

Government targets

The vaccination process outlined by the government will initially cover 20 percent of the Angolan population, totalling 6.4 million people with continuous exposure, such as health workers, social services and public order and security personnel, people with risk categories and aged 40 or over.

Angola has received 624,000 doses of vaccine against Covid-19, as part of the Covax Initiative.

In total, 52 percent of the population, or 16.8 million citizens over the age of 16, are expected to be vaccinated.

By the end of June, the country expects to receive 6.4 million doses of AstraZeneca or other available doses to cover the needs of the first stage of the Covid-19 Vaccination roll out.

The Indian-made Astrazeneca vaccine is one of the three most widely used in the world to prevent infection, with a scientific efficacy of almost 90 per cent.