BY SUSAN KUVHURU
Government has so far acquired 13 million doses out of the 20 million
required in order to achieve herd immunity in the country, by the
December 2021 target.
According to an update presented before Cabinet this week, as of 24 August
2021 a total of 2 382 359 people had already received their first dose and
1 506 445 their second dose across the country.
During a media briefing Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting
Services said the Cabinet was confident that herd immunity would be
achieved by December 2021.
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care has come up with strategies in the
roll out of the vaccination exercise that is expanding the engagement of
the private sector, involving churches, universities and other institutions
of higher learning and accelerating outreach campaigns taking advantage of
the Integrated Expanded Programme for Immunisation," said Mutsvangwa.
The Health ministry is also hoping to speed up the vaccination programme in
Chitungwiza town, and help alleviate the shortage of health personnel. The
Chitungwiza Municipality nursing staff has since been transferred to be
part of the Ministry of Health and Child Care establishment.
Mutsvangwa said on the advice of scientists the inoculation programme will
be extended to the 14 to 17 year age group, which means there would be a
rise in the percentage as expected by the government.
Vaccination in border town hotspots and peoples’ market is ongoing and the
targeted population is fully vaccinated.
Government, she added, recently received 2 500 000 million doses of vaccine
between 19 and 24 August 2021, and during the month of September the
country is expected to receive another 2 500 000 million doses of vaccines
under the direct purchase, and 943 200 doses under the COVAX programme.
She added, "The Chinese government has donated another 500 000 doses, while
the Serbian Government has made a donation of 30 000 Sputnik V vaccine
doses."
Zimbabwe is set to donate 20 000 doses of vaccine to the Government of
Namibia, the minister told journalists in Harare.
Since the beginning of the vaccination programme in Zimbabwe, the
government had aimed at vaccinating 60% of the country’s population inorder
to attain herd immunity.
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