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Precious Manomano Herald Reporter

Traditional chiefs and village heads in rural communities have embraced vaccination, saying consented effort is required in the fight against Covid-19 as the virus is also affecting the rural communities.

In an interview, Chiefs Council President Fortune Charumbira said as traditional leaders, they will be playing an integral role in ensuring that rural communities have access to the life-saving Covid-19 vaccines.

“As chiefs, we are there to stand for you, many people have died because of the pandemic, so we are urging all of you to get vaccinated, we do not want to see any deaths of Covid-19, moreover other chiefs also lost their lives, we cannot continue to lose our precious lives like this, get vaccinated and you will be spared,” said Chief Charumbira.

He has applauded the Government for making efforts to acquire more Covid-19 vaccines that will save the lives of many people, including in rural communities.

Chief Masembura, Mr Ishmael Kagande of Mashonaland East, said at first they faced resistance from community members, but continue spreading positive messages about the vaccines.

“It was not easy at first, but with time they all accepted the vaccine and headmen were also given the platform to sensitise people,” he said.

“We are now appealing for Government to supply more vaccines in Mashonaland East because it is on demand here.”

Chief Masembura said misconceptions were threatening to derail the national effort against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Making use of traditional leaders has been proved efficient in sensitising their communities and they are seen as a reliable weapon to battle vaccine hesitancy.

Government has also partnered churches on vaccination, an initiative which was meant to increase the pace of the programme.

July was the worst month for Zimbabwe in terms of new infections and deaths from Covid-19.

There has been a notable decline in new cases and deaths, but the country remains under level 4 lockdown as authorities continue to monitor situation.