Covid-19 vaccine roll out Leader of government business urges everyone to take the vaccine |11 January 2021

Members of the LDS caucus in the National Assembly getting ready for the vaccination (Photo: Louis Toussaint)

Leaders in government who included President Wavel Ramkalwan, his cabinet of ministers and members of the National Assembly as well as Chief Justice Ronny Govinden yesterday took the first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine as Seychelles rolled out its vaccination campaign against Covid-19.

This show of solidarity was done to prove to the general population that the vaccine is safe and they have nothing to worry about.

In his speech given at the ceremony President Ramkalawan commended his colleagues for their efforts in stepping up and being first in the population to get the vaccine.

Speaking to Seychelles NATION in an interview, the leader of government business in the National Assembly, Bernard Georges, noted that even though he cannot take the vaccine because he is above the age limit, he decided to come to the hospital to encourage his colleagues in the assembly as well as the president.

He noted that when the health authorities give the go ahead for the Sinopharm vaccine or any other vaccine he will gladly take it.

“I encourage everyone to take the vaccine as it is very important and has no downside. We need to stop reading all the misinformation on social media platforms because when the Ministry of Health says that it is safe we must listen,” he said.

He noted that everyone should do their own research on reliable sites.

Honourable Philip Monthy, MNA for Cascade, also took his first shot of the vaccine yesterday and noted that it is important that district leaders practice what they preach and show everyone that the vaccine is safe. However the MNA stated that personally he feels that there should have been more information given on the vaccine but from what he has read he believes that the vaccine is safe.

“It is important that we break the chain of transmission and this is a step in the right direction,” he added.

The Public Health Commissioner, Dr Jude Gedeon, also commended the community and government leaders for stepping up.

“The turnout today shows that there is a want and urgency for Seychelles to get behind the vaccination process and the sooner we are able to do it the better,” said Dr Gedeon.

He added that it is important for members of the public to listen to what the president has said and join the vaccination process.

When asked if this is the beginning of the end for Covid-19, the health commissioner noted that the end is not near as they do not want to put a time stamp for when we will be able to put Covid-19 behind us.

“The vaccine we are giving today only covers a portion of the population aged 18 to 60 years old and the other portion is still vulnerable, so we must build up herd immunity to protect the others and this can take a couple of months and a sufficient number of people vaccinated.”

In response to President Ramkalawan’s announcement that new vaccines will be coming into the country, the doctor noted that the vaccination team has put several protocols in place with different options that will be presented to the general public.

“We cannot say for sure if people will have a choice on which vaccine to take as it will depend on the capacity with which we administer the vaccines,” he said.

Doctor Gedeon also noted that the staff of the hospital have been quite responsive in taking the vaccine.

The United Seychelles caucus of the National Assembly was noticeably absent at the vaccination roll-out. Seychelles NATION reached out to the leader of the opposition, Sebastien Pillay, to inquire about their absence and he said; “We at United Seychelles support the vaccination campaign. However we believe that the vaccine should be supported by other measures to control the staggering infection rate in the community.”

Mr Pillay said he will give more details on the stance of United Seychelles in a later interview.

Christophe Zialor