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- Zambia's minister of health has advised citizens to vaccinate against Covid-19 amid an influenza outbreak at the University of Zambia.
- The minister also says that there has been an increase in Covid-19 deaths, which she attributed to people not being vaccinated.
- The Zambia National Public Health Institute's Infectious Diseases Department has also warned of a fifth wave of Covid-19 in May, June and July.
Zambia's Health Minister Sylvia Masebo has called on the country's citizens to get vaccinated against Covid-19 "at the earliest opportunity" as winter approaches, amid an outbreak of influenza at the University of Zambia in Lusaka.
The influenza outbreak was discovered on 27 April when "the Lusaka District Health Office was notified of an increase in persons presenting with flu-like symptoms around the University of Zambia – UNZA Great East Road campus," the minister said.
"Our disease intelligence team, led by the Zambia National Public Health Institute, investigated the upsurge in the flu-like illness amidst the Covid-19 outbreak," she added.
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"A total of 40 samples were collected and tested at the National Virology Laboratory, based at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH). The investigation revealed [that] all except one were infected with influenza H3N2. This is a positivity rate of 97.5% among those sampled. None of the patients were positive for Covid-19."
Influenza is a common respiratory disease that affects people globally as a common cold flu with signs and symptoms similar to those presented in Covid-19.
These include fever, chills, headache, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, congestion of the chest, and runny nose. Some people may have vomiting and even diarrhoea, though this is more common in children than in adults.
Masebo said Covid-19 was still a major health concern in the country and there had been a notable increase in cases.
She said:
She said four deaths had been recorded and those who had died had not been vaccinated.
"On a sad note, we recorded four new Covid-19-associated deaths, all of whom were [of] unvaccinated individuals. We urge all eligible persons to please get vaccinated at the earliest opportunity," the minister added.
As of Wednesday, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, 2 440 606 people, representing 13.2% of the Zambian population, had been fully vaccinated.
In total 33 684 people, constituting 0.2% of the population, had received booster jabs.
The low uptake has forced the Ministry of Health to undertake a door-to-door vaccination drive to archive the 70% vaccination target.
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During a virtual meeting, Paul Zulu, an infectious disease specialist at Zambia's National Public Health Institute, told journalists that the country could enter its fifth wave of Covid-19 in May, June and July.
Despite vaccine hesitancy, minister Masebo said there had been good reception to the vaccination of children.
"We are also pleased to report that the number of children [aged] 12 to 17 years old who have been vaccinated continues to rise, with over 260 000 so far having received their first dose, and of these, 39 979 are fully vaccinated.
"As the school holidays draw to a close, we urge all parents to ensure that their eligible children are vaccinated before they return to school for the upcoming term," she added.
Zambians have a choice of five vaccines to choose from. These are BioNTech's Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Oxford–AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
