Cameroon health workers reluctant to take China-donated Covid-19 vaccine
On Monday, Cameroon’s Medical Council said about 400 people, including 90 health workers had received the Sinopharm vaccine.
CAPE TOWN, April 14 (ANA) – Healthcare workers in Cameroon say they are reluctant to take the coronavirus vaccines donated by China because they doubt the drug’s efficacy, Voice of America news reported on Wednesday.
Cameroon has received 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from the Chinese government as a donation to the Central African country, according to news agency Anadolu.
The vaccines arrived at the capital Yaounde’s Nsimalen International Airport late on Sunday.
The Chinese ambassador Wang Yingwu and Cameroon’s health Minister Manaouda Malachi signed the handover and reception documents for the donation.
According to the latest figures, Cameroon has recorded 61,731 Covid-19 cases, 35,261 recoveries and 919 deaths since the first case was recorded in March last year.
However, the same day in Beijing, a Chinese official said Chinese vaccines provide low protection against the coronavirus and officials are looking for ways to boost the efficacy by mixing them, according to the news agency Associated Press (AP).
In Cameroon, some healthcare workers are skeptical the Sinopharm vaccine is effective.
“The government should have given more time for trials to be made to see if the side effects on Cameroonians are bearable or not,” said Honorine Aza, a nurse at the Messassi government hospital in Yaounde.
“What is the need rushing with a vaccine to Cameroon on Sunday and asking health workers to be vaccinated immediately? I prefer other preventive methods like washing of hands with soap and water, wearing face masks, social distancing and avoiding overcrowded places.”
On Monday, Cameroon’s Medical Council said about 400 people, including 90 health workers had received the Sinopharm vaccine.
The government had projected at least 1,000 to be vaccinated 24 hours after the doses arrived.
Last month, China donated a batch of medical equipment to fight against the novel coronavirus, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua.
According to the agency, the equipment includes ventilators, oxygenerators, electrocardiographs, among others.
The donation was offered as part of the cooperation mechanism between Chinese and African hospitals, an initiative proposed by China to help Africa in the field of health. A partnership has been forged between the Yaounde Central Hospital and the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University in China.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Naomi Mackay
