Malawi started its COVID-19 vaccination drive in March 2021 using the AstraZeneca vaccine provided by COVAX. But with vaccine expiry dates fast approaching, many districts were facing a race against the clock to mobilise the vaccination programme in time.
Above: Vaccinations in progress at Mayani Health Facility
Dedza District Health Office (DHO) in the Central Region of Malawi was facing a huge challenge. It had received a batch of 13,500 vaccines expiring in June 2021 and another batch of 2,000 doses expiring on 13 April 2021. When the vaccines arrived in Dedza, the district had trained only two teams on how to administer the vaccine - and the tight timeframe left the Health Office with no other option than to use only these small teams to administer as many vaccines as possible. This was not easy, as the district had not received any central funding to support the roll-out of the vaccine.
It was against this backdrop that the District Health Office approached United Purpose for support. We were able to respond quickly, as any further delay would have meant wasting vaccine doses. On 9 April 2021 (just five days before the expiry date of the vaccines), two district teams were dispatched. With support from UP, they administered the vaccines to community members surrounding the eight healthcare facilities targeted by our COVID-19 response programme.
While there were fears that myths and misinformation about the vaccine would prevent people from coming forward, the opposite turned out to be true.
Eager to be vaccinated
Above: An UP staff member obtains feedback from a woman who has just received her first dose of the vaccine.
”I came to get the vaccine so I can be protected,” explained Veleson, who received the vaccine at Kanyezi Health Care Facility. “I am a businessman; my work involves a lot of travelling and meeting a lot of people daily. I heard from a friend about the vaccine and I came willingly. I have been served very well by the health workers; the only worry is that I waited for quite long since there were a lot of people waiting to be assisted. But I am very happy and would like to encourage others to go get the vaccine.”
44-year-old Elemina is another community member in Dedza who decided to get vaccinated. She received the information about the vaccine from the announcement the local chief made. “Nobody forced me to go for the vaccine, I made the decision myself willingly because I want to be protected,” Elemina explained. She added that she would encourage others to get vaccinated.
Several local leaders also received the vaccine. One of them was Senior Chief Chauma. He explained that he was very happy to get vaccinated. He did it openly so he could set an example to the people he leads so that they would not fear the vaccine or believe the myths about it.
Above: Senior Chief Chauma gets his jab to set an example to people in his local area
An incredible achievement
By 13 April, all doses set to expire on that date had been used and the team had already started administering the other batch of vaccines expiring in June 2021.
“We are so thankful to United Purpose for coming in at such a short notice and providing us with the resources that really helped us prevent wastage of vaccine doses,” said Sydney Phiri, the Expanded Program on Immunisation (EPI) Coordinator for the District Hospital.
Context:
UP’s programme ‘Support to at risk districts and communities in Malawi to prevent, rapidly detect and effectively respond to COVID-19’ is funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid. Its principal objective is to support to the national government, local government authorities and communities in Malawi to prevent, rapidly detect and effectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality. Dedza District Health Office requested support from this programme with their vaccination roll-out.