The Ministry of Health and Social Services has assured Namibians that COVID-19 vaccines that are being administered in the country are not part of the fake vaccines that the World Health Organization (WHO) recalled earlier this week. WHO on Tuesday issued a medical alert referring to fake Covishield COVID-19 vaccine doses being reported in South-East Asia and Africa. The WHO said that the fake vaccine shots were reported to it in July and August, adding that the Covishield manufacturer, Serum Institute of India had confirmed that the products listed in the alert are fake. WHO called on the removal of such vaccine from circular citing that it poses a serious risk to global public health. In a media statement on Thursday, the health ministry's executive director, Ben Nangombe, said all consignment of COVID-19 vaccine batch numbers received in Namibia have been verified, adding that the ministry can confirm that none of the vaccines in the country are among the falsified batch numbers reported by WHO. “The safety of our people remains a priority and we would like to emphasise that all pharmaceuticals including vaccines received in the country are carefully checked and go through a vigorous authentication process before authorization,” said Nangombe. He added that the ministry is in constant contact with WHO office in Namibia to share relevant information related to matters of health at national, regional, continental and global levels. “As the country continues to receive more vaccines, the ministry, together with relevant regulatory bodies, remain vigilant in ensuring that all vaccines received are safe. We encourage more Namibians to go out in numbers and get vaccinated,” he said. Namibia is currently administering only two COVID-19 vaccines namely the AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines. As of Wednesday, a total of 193 246 people had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 86 993 had received the two full doses.