Only six vaccinated dead from Covid

Jo-Maré Duddy



WINDHOEK

Only six people who were vaccinated against Covid-19 have died since the third wave hit Namibia in May.

All of them had comorbitities and their ages varied from 50 to 78.

These statistics form part of the health ministry’s daily Covid-19 reports. Since 27 May, the ministry has indicated whether those who have died from the virus were vaccinated or not, but hasn’t consistently indicated whether the deceased got their first or second doses or whether they received Sinopharm or Astra Zeneca.

From 27 May to Saturday, a total of 332 people who tested positive for Covid-19 died. About 60% of them weren’t vaccinated.

In about 38% of deaths, the ministry wasn’t able to confirm the vaccination status of the deceased.

Perspective

If all deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in Namibia are used as a benchmark, only 0.5% of the deceased were vaccinated.

Namibia’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign started in March. Deaths since then total 655, 56% of the total number of deaths since last year. Less than 1% of people who have died since 19 March were vaccinated, according to the ministry’s records.

Data from the United States’ Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows 0.0017% of people who were vaccinated against Covid-19 have died.

By Saturday, 104 103 Namibians received their first dose of Sinopharm or Astra Zeneca, with about 35% residing in the Khomas Region and 11% in Erongo. A total of 19 851 people have been fully vaccinated, around 29% in Khomas and 9% in Erongo.

Slightly more than 1.3% of the target group of some 1.5 million people in Namibia were fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by Saturday. To achieve herd immunity, between 60% and 80% of the population has to be fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), three times more people die directly or indirectly because of the pandemic than what is reflected in official statistics.