ZIM IMPOSES CORONAVIRUS VACCINE ON CHURCHGOERS

HARARE

- Zimbabwe's parliament on Tuesday banned anyone not vaccinated against Covid-19 from attending church services, the latest in a series of measure to boost uptake of the coronavirus jab.

Zimbabwe has also barred unvaccinated civil servants from going to work with immediate effect.

Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the government had given its workers "ample time" to get Covid-19 vaccines. The authorities say about 90 percent of the people admitted to hospital for Covid are unvaccinated.

The country had already made the vaccine mandatory for civil servants and teachers earlier this month.

Getting vaccinated is also a prerequisite for trading in markets, working out at gyms, frequenting restaurants and sitting university exams.

"With regards to churches, Cabinet has resolved that only vaccinated congregants can attend," said a statement issued after the cabinet meeting.

Zimbabwe's under-supplied vaccine centres have struggled to keep up with growing demand fuelled by the jab-linked restrictions.

Just over 2.8 million of Zimbabwe's 15 million inhabitants have so far received a first vaccine dose.

Meanwhile, The World Health Organisation ( WHO) and its partners have said they hope to provide Africa with about 30 percent of the Covid-19 vaccines the continent needs by February, badly missing the 60 percent vaccination coverage goal that African leaders had once hoped for this year.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday called the massive disparity in vaccination rates between rich and poor countries a "solvable problem" and urged pharmaceutical companies to prioritise the UN-backed COVAX initiative, which is designed to share vaccines globally and provide shots at no cost to lower-income countries. – AFP/ALJAZEERA.