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Conrad Mupesa 

Mashonaland West Bureau 

All teachers in Mashonaland West Province will be vaccinated against Covid-19 if they wish, as there are adequate jabs in clinics for everyone, a senior official in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in the province has said.

Mashonaland West Province’s education director, Mr Gabriel Mhumha, also took the opportunity to encourage teachers to take up the vaccine, which is being offered for free.

“The provincial medical director assured us that there are enough doses for us now available in all clinics. 

“For those teachers with questions about its efficacy and safety, they should approach health officials closer to them rather than  relying on social media where there is a lot of distorted information,” he said. 

Mr Mhumha, a Covid-19 survivor who lost his wife to the pandemic in January, received his jab at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital last Thursday. 

He was in the company of deputy provincial education directors, district schools’ inspectors and representatives from Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), Progress Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (TUZ). 

Mr Mhumha called on teachers to get vaccinated to avoid last minute rushes. 

“While vaccination is voluntary, I wish to encourage my colleagues to take advantage of this phase extended by Government and not wait until there is a scramble for it, which is likely to be the case in the future.

“As Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, I would like to encourage all members of the teaching fraternity to take advantage of this phase extended to the teaching family which includes; all the teachers, all non-teaching staff members and the school development committees (SDC),” he said.

Teachers’ representatives encouraged their members to embrace the Covid-19 vaccine, aimed at protecting them from the deadly virus. “This is a good move considering that Covid-19 has killed a lot of people in Zimbabwe and I urge all our members to get vaccinated. It’s not painful at all,” said Mr Tapera Rupende, the Zimta, Chinhoyi province chairperson.

PTUZ provincial chairperson Mr Rosten Mutapwa and Ms Joice Musindo, the TUZ provincial manager, concurred with Mr Rupende. 

Some teachers in Mhangura Constituency expressed their readiness to get vaccinated. 

“We are supposed to be vaccinated any day after the Easter holiday,” said a teacher at Chimanimai Secondary School in Ward 2 of the constituency.

Acting provincial health director, Dr Gift Masoja, said vaccines were available for every member of the education sector in the province, adding that modalities to roll out the vaccination programme were taking shape.