Abdel Nasser Abu Bakr, Director of the Infection Risk Prevention Unit at the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, confirmed during a press conference today, Wednesday, that the supply of the Indian Covaxin vaccine has been stopped, explaining, as you know, that the organization has authorized these vaccines in emergency situations and has approved about 14 vaccines so far. .
He added: “We are talking about the safety of these vaccines, not just their effectiveness, explaining that the organization visited the facilities that manufacture the Covaccin vaccine, reviewed the practices applied by the manufacturers, and found some problems, but it does not mean ending the production of this vaccine, but the organization works with the Drug Control Authority. In India, because the world does not have a sufficient number of vaccines, so we present recommendations to the regulatory bodies in India to improve the production of this vaccine, and we stopped its production, and recommended not to use the stock they had of it, and the organization is working with the producing company and the Indian Supervisory Authority, and we hope that the production process that was stopped will return which relate to adherence to best practices.
With regard to the fourth booster dose, he said, the organization recommended the booster dose for the elderly and those with chronic diseases, and we have reached 40% of the population vaccinated. To reach the goal of vaccinating 40% of the population, as there are 6 countries that have not yet reached this goal in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and WHO does not recommend the fourth booster dose at the present time.
Ahmed Al-Manzari, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said during a press conference today, Wednesday, on the occasion of World Health Day, that we usually rely on treating diseases instead of preventing them, and mitigating pathogens, and by adhering to the preventive policy with the emergence of the Corona virus, it became clear to us that the responsibility is not from the Ministry of Health. Not only health, but all sectors.
He added, that the pandemic gave us an opportunity to deal with health problems and challenges, protect and care for the environment and cannot be separated from human health, and it is necessary to focus on the leadership role and monitoring of various environmental services, explaining that hygiene is essential to ensuring good health for humans, which is the basis and what we all strive for.
Dr. Maha El-Adawy, Director of Population Health Promotion Department at the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, explained that we aim to achieve a healthy sustainable society, explaining that we have 105 healthy cities in the region, and we found that healthy cities are accustomed to community participation, which showed the importance of cooperation in the field of achieving a healthy environment.