Senegal is awaiting, on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, the receipt of the first doses of anti-Covid vaccines to arrive by Air Senegal flight. This is a 200,000-dose order for the Sinopharm vaccine and a batch of more than 1.296 million doses through the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVAX initiative.
As planned, Senegal will receive the first wave of Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday, February 17. The State of Senegal paid the entire 200,000 doses to the Chinese firm Sinopharm. The country will also receive a batch of more than 1,296 million doses through the WHO COVAX initiative. This will allow the effective start of vaccination in priority of vulnerable people, health personnel, among others.
The coordinator of the Extended Vaccination Programme (EPI), Dr Ousseynou Badiane, announced in early February that Senegal is also expecting 1,300,000 doses of the vaccine developed by the British AstraZeneca laboratory. This vaccine, developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, is distinguished by its more flexible storage conditions, which would simplify the vaccination process and increase daily vaccination capacities.
President Macky Sall had given instructions to the Minister of Health at the meeting of the Council of Ministers on 10 February to start the vaccination campaign, at the latest, at the end of February.
Despite the widespread scepticism of populations about vaccines, the survey conducted by the Bureau de Prospective Économique (BPE) of Senegal aims to assess the level of awareness and behaviour of populations in the face of Covid-19, that 50.2% of respondents would agree to be vaccinated if a Covid vaccine is available in Senegal. 35.1% of them would do it to protect themselves definitively from the virus, and 15.1% if it is a recommendation of the health authorities.
However, 43.9% of respondents are not ready to be vaccinated if a Covid vaccine is available in Senegal. The reasons for their refusal were “the risk of facing possible side effects” (more than half in between), “the timeliness of coronavirus vaccines”., the lack of laboratory liability or the fact that they consider Covid-19 to be safe.
The telephone survey was carried out with a sample of 1,110 persons selected using the quota method. The quota variables used are: sex, age, level of education and department. It shall faithfully respect the scientific and ethical principles of the sample survey. The universe of the survey (or target population) consists of individuals aged 18 years or older, from the country’s 45 departments, belonging to an ordinary household.
Since the first case of coronavirus appeared in the country on 02 March, the country has registered 31,771 positive cases, including 26,095 cures, 769 deaths and 4,906 patients still on treatment.
