The vaccination against Covid-19 in Algeria divides health officials. The controversy began with the statements of Dr. Mohamed Berkani, member of the scientific committee monitoring the coronavirus epidemic in Algeria.
Sunday, November 30, Dr Bekkat Berkani announced that the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 could begin in January 2021 in Algeria. He added that the vaccine will be free for Algerians.
“If we manage to have them (the vaccines) at the end of January, we will start the vaccination campaign in Algeria,” said Dr Bekkat Berkani in a statement to TSA.
“The month of January will be decisive,” he said, adding that the vaccine against Covid-19 will be “made available free of charge” to the Algerian population.
Four days, on Wednesday December 2, the Minister of Health Abderrahmane Benbouzid reacted to the statements of Dr. Bekkat Berkani, saying that Algeria “had not taken any decision” regarding the anti-Covid vaccine.
“It has been said that the vaccine will be available in January. Why ? Asked Prof. Benbouzid, alluding to Dr Bekkat Berkani’s statements.
“We have not yet declared anything and we have not yet started the process of acquiring the vaccine and launching the vaccination campaign,” the minister said.
“No country will do it in January. How to talk about Algeria when the other countries (the minister is referring to developed countries, note) have not announced a date? “, He got carried away, correcting the member of the scientific committee on the free vaccine.
“As chairman of the (scientific) committee, I cannot claim that the vaccine will be free, but I wish it”, he said, before letting go: “We wish that it (the vaccine) will be free but whoever says it will be free must take responsibility ”. Understand: the decision on free anti-Covid vaccine does not fall under the prerogatives of the Ministry of Health, and even less of those of the scientific committee.
Professor Senhadj contradicts the Minister of Health
The intervention of the Minister of Health on the issue of the anti-Covid vaccine has calmed the debate on the vaccination campaign as no country has started vaccinating its population. But this calm did not last long. On Radio Sétif, Professor Kamel Senhadji, director of the National Health Security Agency (ANSS), added his two cents, contradicting Minister Benbouzid.
According to the account of this interview published by Radio Sétif on his Facebook page, Professor Senhadji said that the vaccination campaign could begin in January 2021, and that the vaccine will be distributed free to Algerians.
Prof. Senhadji also said that the vaccine will not be compulsory and that Algeria has the means and the logistics necessary to acquire anti-Covid vaccines, including the one developed by Pfizer – BioNTech which must be stored at very low temperatures. (-70 ° C). On this point, Professor Senhadji and Dr Bekkat Berkani diverge, which denotes the lack of coordination between the Algerian health authorities on the issue of the vaccine.
For Dr Bekkat Berkani, Pfizer’s vaccine “is not applicable” to the Algerian vaccination system, due to its high cost and the logistical challenge it imposes on Algeria. “You need ultra sophisticated logistics. It would seem that a container that would keep 100,000 doses would cost $ 20,000, “he said.
This cacophony and the confusion that reign around the vaccination campaign between Algerian officials are not reassuring.
