Zimpapers Logo

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Senior Health Reporter

Government has urged Zimbabweans to remain vigilant and avoid complacency once they have been vaccinated, as the Covid-19 pandemic still poses a threat.

The country launched the first phase of the vaccination exercise on February 18 using Sinopharm doses received from China.

By Tuesday, 35 761 frontline workers had been inoculated against the disease, with more still coming in.

Zimbabwe aims to vaccinate around 60 000 healthcare and other frontline workers in the first round of vaccinations, followed by the elderly and those with chronic conditions.

As the vaccination exercise gathers momentum, there have been concerns that those who are inoculated might become complacent and disregard the Covid-19 safety guidelines that include wearing of masks, frequent hand-washing, sanitizing and social distancing.

Ministry of Health and Child Care spokesperson Mr Donald Mujiri said vaccination was no excuse for people to disregard safety precautions.

“We urge everyone to adhere to the guidelines,” he said. “Covid-19 is still with us and we have not yet won the fight against the virus.

“We have recorded success in our response to the virus and we need to continue to be vigilant. Generally we urge everyone to follow the guidelines so as to save everyone, your family and friends from the virus.”

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa this week said the Covid-19 vaccination roll out was well on course and there had been significant progress in receiving the second donation of 200 000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China, a donation of 75 000 doses of Covaxin from India, and another donation of 20 000 doses of Sputnik-V vaccine from Russia.