Modou Njai, The Director of Health Promotion, has revealed that only 25 percent of the population has been vaccinated when the target is to vaccinate 65 percent of people in The Gambia.
“We have not yet achieved that target because people are not coming forward to take the vaccine.”
Mr. Njai highlighted the challenges they are faced with getting people vaccinated, such as fear due to misinformation and disinformation that some people continue to spread about the vaccine.
The Director of Health Promotion urged journalists in The Gambia to help educate the people on the importance of taking the vaccine while encouraging them to get all the facts they need on the vaccine to reach out to more people.
Njai stressed that hand washing and wearing face masks have been relaxed in the country, especially in public places.
“People are going in and out without wearing face masks as if there is no COVID-19. People should still adhere to the precautionary measures.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Njai made these remarks at the training of 25 journalists in promoting peace and positive messaging on COVID-19.
So far, The Gambia has tried four COVID-19 vaccines: AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson, Sinopharm, and Pfizer vaccine, respectively. But the J & J is the most highly administered vaccine so far as it requires only one single dose.
Currently, there are over 150 active cases of Covid-19 in The Gambia, 9,049 confirmed cases, and over 300 deaths as of 21st August 2021. So far, 145,059 people have been fully vaccinated.
