Covid-19 deaths dropping as new AstraZeneca vaccine doses consignment arrives

There has been a drop of Covid-19 related deaths in the past few days, fluctuating between 13 and 16 in the past four days. At the peak of winter a few weeks ago, as many as 20 to over 30 people died daily, although the figures have also been fluctuating.

According to the Ministry of Health, on Tuesday, 17 August, 2021, 15 deaths were recorded while on Wednesday and Thursday, the figures stood at 14 and 16, respectively.

On Friday, 20 August, 2021, Malawi has registered 16 new deaths “in the past 24 hours”, according to a press statement signed by Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, Minister of Health and Co-Chair of the Covid-19 Presidential Taskforce.

Malawi has now gone into summer season and a health expert has said this could be one of the reasons for the drop in infection and deaths. However, while scientists agree that countries with dry cold air had favourable conditions for flu transmission, the relevance of weather condition coronavirus is yet to be proved.

Others believe the government has succeeded in convincing a good part of the population to receive Covid-19 vaccination, reducing the infection rate considerably.

In the Health Ministry statement, Kandodo Chiponda says that on Friday Malawi received an additional 115,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine under the COVAX facility.

“The vaccines we have received today will help to reach out to those people that had received the first dose of the AstraZeneca Vaccine and are due to receive the second dose. This will help in increasing the fully vaccinated population in our country,” she says.

Malawi is currently administering two types of Covid-19 vaccines, Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccine. Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is a single dose vaccine and one is required to receive one dose to ensure full protection. It is being given to all those that have never received any type of Covid-19 vaccine. The AstraZeneca vaccine is a two dose vaccine given twice at an interval of 12 weeks apart.

“Let me remind those that have received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine and are due for the second dose to visit government and CHAM health facilities to get their second dose. For the AstraZeneca vaccine, receiving all the two doses will ensure full protection,” says the minister.

According to the statement, in the hours under review, there have been 201 new Covid-19 cases and 339 new recoveries. All cases are locally transmitted, 44 from Lilongwe, 34 from Zomba, 33 from Blantyre, 15 from Mzimba South, 10 from Mzimba North, nine from Dedza, six from Karonga, five each from Mchinji and Mulanje, four from Chikwawa, three each from Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Machinga, and Ntcheu, two each from Balaka, Dowa, Kasungu, and Thyolo, and one each from Neno, Ntchisi, Phalombe, Rumphi, and Salima districts.

“16 new deaths were registered in the past 24 hours; five from Lilongwe, two each from Blantyre, Zomba, and Chiradzulu, and one each from Mzimba South, Balaka, Dedza, Ntcheu, and Nsanje districts.

“Cumulatively, Malawi has recorded 59,249 cases including 2,044 deaths (Case Fatality Rate is at 3.45%). Of these cases, 2,600 are imported infections and 56,649 are locally transmitted.

“Cumulatively, 45,123 cases have now recovered (recovery rate of 76.2%) and 232 were lost to follow-up. This brings the total number of active cases to 11,850. In the past 24 hours, there were 38 new admissions in the treatment units while 32 cases were discharged. Currently, a total of 277 active cases are currently hospitalised: 73 in Lilongwe, 51 in Blantyre, 32 in Mzimba North, 21 in Zomba, 12 in Karonga, 10 in Mchinji, eight in Balaka, seven in Mzimba South, six in Chitipa, five each in Mangochi, Mulanje, Phalombe, Rumphi, and Nsanje, four each in Thyolo and Chiradzulu, three each in Salima, Dowa, Nkhata Bay, Neno, Ntcheu, and Ntcheu, two each in Dedza and Machinga, and one each in Kasungu and Chikwawa districts,” reads the statement.

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