Gvt prioritises high social contact areas in vaccine distribution

Source: Gvt prioritises high social contact areas in vaccine distribution | The Herald

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube (right) and Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Dr John Mangwiro receive two million Sinovac vaccines at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport recently

Mukudzei Chingwere Herald Reporter
Government is prioritising high social contact areas for mass vaccination with the latest consignment of Covid-19 vaccines as it pushes to quickly protect those at the highest risk of infection.

Zimbabwe last week took delivery of two million Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines bought from China, and another 3,5 million are expected this month.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care spokesperson Mr Donald Mujiri said priority will be those classified as high social contact areas.

“The rollout plan will prioritise border towns and cities, people’s markets such as Mbare Musika, Rankini and Sakubva among others.

“Hotspots, tobacco auction floors, GMB depots, cotton depots, higher and tertiary learning institutions.”

Mr Mujiri also talked about the distributions so far for the vaccines, some vaccines are still safe kept and will be transported when needed in certain areas.

The vaccines are being kept in warehouses in compliance with manufacturer specifications in terms of the needed and requisite temperatures.

“Each province has been allocated 50 000 first doses. Except for Harare and Bulawayo metropolitan provinces received 100 000 first doses. Mashonaland West Province received 90 000 first doses,” said Mr Mujiri.

Meanwhile, the business community has urged its people to get vaccinated as a way of breaking the cycle of Covid-19 infections.

President Mnangagwa is on record, taking it upon himself to urge the populace to accept the vaccines – a scientific record of defeating the virus.

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) president Mr Denford Mutashu said they appreciate efforts in accelerating the vaccination programme as Zimbabwe targets to vaccinate 60% of the population to achieve herd immunity.

“As CZR, we urge our members to ensure that their employees are vaccinated to reduce the cycle of transmission and to save lives,” said Mr Mutashu in a statement.

“We also believe that the vaccination programme will also mitigate future business disruptions as many of our members cannot survive a total lockdown.

“We propose that the Government should consider mandatory vaccination for all essential services, intercity travellers and attendees of any public gatherings,” he said.

Mr Mutashu said they thank the Government for declaring that traders at people’s markets such as Mbare and Renkini should be vaccinated due to the high number of people that visit those markets.

He said the measure will be necessary to curb the future spread of the virus and will save both lives as well as traders’ future earnings.

“Once again, we would like to thank HE Mnangagwa, Vice President and Health Minister Dr Constantino Chiwenga and Prof Ncube for driving the vaccination programme.

“It is the duty of every Zimbabwean to adhere to the Covid-19 preventive measures–mask up, sanitise, practise social distancing and avoid unnecessary gatherings. Together we can defeat Covid-19.”