Minister of Health Dr Jonas Chanda has ordered for the recall of all uncertified medicines amidst increased usage of suspected but not medically approved COVID-19 drugs.
Dr Chanda has since directed that the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) ensures that all those medicines that have not undergone testing and certification processes are removed from the market in order to safeguard the lives of people.
Dr Chanda was speaking today when he undertook a tour of the state of the art Maina Soko Medical Center which has been turned into a COVID-19 treatment facility.
And Dr Chanda disclosed that the COVID-19 vaccine will be taken to cabinet for discussions and approval after which a statement will also be issued in parliament before the vaccine is subjected to the general public for use.
He said government will be transparent and will not hide anything about the vaccine development and procedures and will not allow a vaccine that does not meet the global health standards to be offloaded onto the market.
“Any vaccine is about safety and efficacy which is the ability for it to work and whether it is safe for consumers” Dr Chanda said and accepted that skepticism amongst the public is part of human nature but called for the depoliticization of COVID-19 related matters in order to effectively and positively deal with the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Dr Chanda has commended Maina Soko Medical Center for offering their state of the art facility for COVID-19 treatment adding that the move will help in the treatment of cases and also will save a lot of lives.
He said the facility which is of international standards and incomparable to many others is a true demonstration of President Edgar Lungu’s commitment in promoting quality healthy care.
And Maina Soko Medical Center commandant Dr Bernard Kapatamoyo said the hospital which has now been turned into a COVID-19 centre has enough capacity both in terms of bed space and health care for those that are COVID-19 positive.
