Stopping Covid-19 in its tracks

FOR the past four years, Government has been channelling millions of dollars towards the procurement of Covid-19 testing kits and vaccines.

Even as the tide receded for the past few months, Government did not relent in its vaccination drive.

With the level of expenditure in the health industry increasing over the last few years, especially following the advent of Covid-19, the programme has helped the country in its fight against the highly contagious disease, particularly in Manicaland Province.

These efforts are in line with Sustainable Development Goal Number Three, which aspires to ensure health and well-being for all.

By working towards achieving this goal, other aspects of development — such as education, work, gender equality, peace and justice — are being positively impacted.

These investments were long overdue because good health is a critical enabler of development. This is so because access to health care has an impact on a person’s overall physical, social, mental health status and quality of life.

In addition to the Covid-19 interventions, Government has also made huge investments in the construction of hospitals and clinics across the province to ensure that no place and no one is left behind in accessing health care.

Unfortunately, despite Government’s efforts to bring health facilities and Covid-19 vaccines very close to our doorsteps, complacency has crept in on the part of the public.

The result has been the sudden and recent spike in the number of Covid-19 cases.

While Government is seized with availing health centres and Covid-19 vaccines, as the public we have dismally failed to jealously guard our own health by taking all the vaccines as prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

We all also guilty of not following the WHO guidelines on masking up, observing physical distancing and hand sanitisation, among other things.

We have also chosen to forget that tests for Covid-19 are important and should be done whenever one is exhibiting symptoms or has been exposed to the disease.

This is crucial in that it allows for isolation in the case of positive cases, which will in turn prevent the spreading of the viral disease.

Vaccinations, on the other hand, prevent severe illness and safeguard against the viral disease. With another wave of Covid-19 on the horizon, those who are yet to receive their jabs, including the booster shots, should consider doing so as soon as possible.

This will not only protect the individuals concerned, it will also protect their families, as well as their communities and the country at large.

In the past, we have made the mistake of waiting for too long until it is too late to save ourselves and our loved ones from the clutches of Covid-19.

Statistics show that the pandemic has severely triggered an increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression, lowered global life expectancy, derailed progress towards ending HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.

They say prevention is better than cure. With the numbers continuing to rise, it is time to for everyone to make an effort to make sure that they put a stop to the spreading of the contagious disease.

Let’s get vaccinated, mask up and maintain physical distance before the figures shoot through the roof.