The U.S. government has just granted 409,500 doses of Pfizer vaccines for Madagascar as part of the fight against the spread of the epidemic. This is part of the Covax initiative where Madagascar has already received 1.7 million doses of vaccine. At the level of the Ministry of Public Health, the number of vaccines received so far amounts to over 3,600,000 doses.
Pfizer is considered the most popular vaccine in Europe and the United States against the Covid-19 epidemic. In particular, it is being used in some countries as a booster to the Janssen vaccine four weeks after the Janssen injection.
In Madagascar, the vaccination rate of the population is still very low. The goal of vaccinating one million people by the end of 2021 has not been reached despite the availability of vaccines and awareness campaigns. According to the ourworldata website, as of January 5, 2022, the number of people who have received a complete vaccination regimen is 817,386 or 2.8% of the population. The total number of vaccines administered is 971,000.
Boosters for a 3rd dose are not yet on the agenda for those who have been vaccinated since May 2021 while vaccines are still available. Authorities prefer to focus on the first injections first.
The measures taken in the framework of health vigilance are not convincing and are rarely followed, especially since no follow-up or control takes place. Many believe that stricter measures such as the return of confinement and the limitation of circulation should now be taken, in parallel with the prohibition of the holding of gatherings and the postponement of the start of the school year, but this is not yet the case, although unofficial sources within the ministries mainly concerned indicate that preparations are being made for a partial re-confinement in the country.
