Kudos to authorities for decentralising vaccine rollout

IWOULD like to hail the government for decentralising the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to speed up the process.

The first month of the programme saw a low uptake of the vaccine, with many Zimbabweans sceptical about the Chinese-made Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines.

Initially, the first vaccines in the country were meant for frontline workers, who were being vaccinated at either Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital or Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in the capital.

Now Harare has opened more immunisation centres in a bid to ramp up vaccination against the pandemic.

Twenty-four centres including hospitals, polyclinics and satellite clinics, have been designated as vaccination centres in the city of about 1,5 million people, according to the Harare City Council.

A total of 123 454 people in Zimbabwe have so far been vaccinated with the Chinese vaccines since the national inoculation programme began on February 18, with more than 16 000 people receiving their first dose on Easter Friday alone.

Vaccination was being rolled out during the Easter holiday with the hope of attracting more people.

Government aims to vaccinate 10 million people out of the country’s 16 million people to achieve herd immunity.

Zimbabweans are being vaccinated with the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines from China, and the country is also expecting delivery of vaccines from Russia, India and through the Covax global distribution scheme.

Gwizhikiti

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition director Blessing Vava receiving the first dose of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine at Belvedere Satellite Clinic in Harare on Friday