Cape Town – Gabon’s Steering Committee of the monitoring and response plan against the coronavirus epidemic (Copil-coronavirus) has said that the Central African country is on its way to taming the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Gabon Media Time (GMT) on Tuesday, the data made public by the Copil-coronavirus on Monday shows only 95 active cases in the country and confirms the low severity of contamination.
It said active cases, namely people who still carry the viral load of Covid-19, experience a considerable and gradual decline every day. Health authorities, including Copil-coronavirus, have 95 active cases, whereas at the end of May this figure was still close to the 3,000 mark.
According to the latest figures, Gabon has recorded 25,198 Covid-19 cases, including 24,941 recoveries and 162 deaths.
Minister of Health Guy Patrick Obiang Ndong during a press conference on Monday announced a shipment of more than 100,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to strengthen the national Covid-19 vaccination plan put in place by the government.
Marielle Bouyou Akotet, president of the National Vaccination Committee against Covid-19, indicated that the shipment will enhance the quality of available vaccines.
“We are talking in terms of more than 100,000 doses of vaccine which should be added to the 410,000 doses of Sinopharm and Sputnik V already received by the country. The idea being to offer a variety of quality vaccines to volunteers for vaccination,” Akotet was quoted as saying by GMT.
“Medically we will ask the question of choice. Some people who have the contraindication to Sinopharm will be vaccinated by Sputnik or Johnson,” she suggested.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one injection, she reminded the public.
“It should thus facilitate vaccination and make it possible to vaccinate at least 100,000 people in Gabon. It also has another advantage that it can be stored at refrigerator temperatures rather than freezers, which will facilitate its distribution and preservation.”
After recording its 158th death in Libreville in June, the Copil-coronavirus said the circulation of the virus seemed to be under control, given the low number of deaths in 48 hours. Out of nearly 442 active cases, only one death was reported.
The number of cases detected is dropping as recoveries continuously increase, GMT reported, citing the Copil-coronavirus.
Meanwhile, African health officials are urgently appealing for vaccines to combat a third wave of Covid-19 surging across the continent, according to the Voice of America (VOA) news.
African News Agency (ANA)