Post-cabinet briefing: Why the volte-face?

ALL right-thinking Zimbabweans should have given kudos to Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa for her honesty when presenting the post-cabinet briefing on Tuesday this week. She said that the government had not yet made a decision on the Covid-19 vaccine to buy. She said that the executive arm of government had agreed it would take its time to ultimately make a decision on which vaccine to import.

“In that regard, cabinet endorsed the following key guidelines: that Zimbabwe’s vaccination programme, in particular the choice of vaccines, needs to be science-based, with adequate research and findings guiding decision-making and the course of action,” Mutsvangwa said.

It was surprising therefore when the following day the government-controlled Herald seemed to repudiate this very clear pronouncement by Mutsvangwa. e Herald said the government had dismissed as “false and mischievous” what clearly Mutsvangwa had told the public.

But, why the volte-face? Mutsvangwa had further said that the government would not be influenced by external forces into making a decision about the vaccine.

“Zimbabwe will take decisions independently in the national interest, without undue influence,” she said.

It now seems the about-turn is a result of a push from somewhere. It is not difficult to see from where. Just a day after Mutsvangwa was making this reasonable announcement Mnangagwa was thanking two of the country’s so-called all-weather friends for their generosity and magnanimity in offering Zimbabweans vaccines in its hour of need.

Using the usual jejune diplomatic-speak the Herald said Mnangagwa “lauded both China and Russia for standing with Zimbabwe at a time when some countries with the vaccines are nationalising the Covid-19 jabs that are key in ensuring that the world faces the novel pandemic”.

Mnangagwa waxed lyrical about how China had offered 200 000 doses of their Sinopharm vaccine, while Russia had pledged its Sputnik V vaccine.

But the main question that Zimbabweans should seek an answer to is whether these vaccines have been scientifically trialed on Zimbabweans under Zimbabwean conditions? It has been said the Chinese vaccine’s efficacy is at 76% to 86% and was endorsed by the World Health Organisation? Is that enough to assure Zimbabweans that it’s safe for them to accept it? e Russian vaccine seems to fare better at 92% efficacy, but again that percentage was not arrived at in Zimbabwe.

It seems therefore that diplomatic pressure has been brought to bear on the authorities to import vaccines that have not been trialed in the country; and this goes against cabinet’s initial stance that the government would take decisions independently in the national interest.

Meanwhile, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and preventions has urged caution on the choice of vaccines following the failure of the AstraZeneca vaccine in South Africa. It called for member states to strengthen clinical trials research capacity to generate data on the safety and efficacy of vaccines in African populations.

It said African countries should expand genomic surveillance testing capacity or liaise with the Africa CDC/WHO continental Covid-19 genome sequencing network. is is advice Zimbabwe should take heed of.