Women in the small-scale business sector have hailed the benefits of Covid-19 vaccine and how getting it have helped them overcome travelling restrictions. 

Ndeye Drammeh, a businesswoman at Serekunda market who has been vaccinated, urged her fellow women to take the Covid jab, describing the vaccination as a “weapon against coronavirus.”

Ms Drammeh, who imports women and children’s clothes, said she took the bold step to get vaccinated against the virus despite the misconception around the shot in the country.

“The vaccine has importance for our health and I have taken the Covid-19 shot. Sometimes we are asked to produce our Covid vaccination certificate when travelling out of the country for business, but sometimes we are not asked,” she told Gambiana.

“What prompted me to take the vaccination to effectively do my business transaction without hindrance because I used to go to Senegal and other countries to buy products like clothes for resale. 

“However, our main challenges were the face mask issue, which we were obliged to wear whenever we were visiting,” she added. 

Mama Njie, another businesswoman, said the vaccine protects people from the dangers of coronavirus.

“The vaccine has lots of importance for our health. However, our fear due to misconception around the vaccine as some people were saying if a woman takes the shot she will not have children again in life. 

“Secondly, once you take the vaccination, it paves ways for you to travel to other countries without any restrictions,” she  said.

Meanwhile, the  Ministry of Health is scrambling to meet its 70% target to get the population vaccinated against the virus amid low uptake due to misconception about the vaccine.

The ministry has launched an 11-day Covid vaccination campaign across the country. 

Director of health promotion and education at the Ministry of Health, Modou Njai, urged the population to get vaccinated against coronavirus, adding that vaccination cards will be issued to any person that gets the jab during the campaign.

 “The card will serve as a vaccine passport, especially for people traveling to countries requiring proof of valid COVID-19 vaccination, thus everyone is urged to keep their vaccination cards safely,” he said.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba