Chronicle Editor
Churches can now call Government vaccination teams to their premises to vaccinate congregants against Covid-19 or arrange with the nearest health facility to have members vaccinated there.
The new move bringing vaccination teams to the church premises, codenamed Operation Marah, is expected to see more churches embracing the vaccination drive.
Speaking at the launch of the programme on Sunday, Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Dr John Mangwiro said the acceptance of vaccination by most churches was a positive boost that will complement Government efforts to fight the pandemic.
Dr Mangwiro encouraged church leaders to continue educating and encouraging their members to be vaccinated.
“Government is happy that this partnership will drive the national programme and ensure we attain herd immunity.
“Health experts and scientists have all agreed that vaccination is the silver bullet to Covid-19,”he said.
Under this programme for churches, outreach teams will be assigned to vaccinate church members at designated places identified by the churches which could either be church premises or nearest health facilities.
The Zimbabwe Indigenous Inter-denominational Council of Churches chairman Apostle Andrew Wutawunashe said the church will always offer unequivocal support for the vaccination programme.
He urged Zimbabweans to take advantage of the vaccination programme to protect themselves and others against the deadly pandemic. It is our hope that the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) will join other church organisations to mobilise members to come forward for vaccination.
We totally agree with EFZ that individuals must be allowed to make personal informed choices regarding vaccinations hence the need for the leadership to provide the required information to enable their congregants to make informed decisions.
Government has responded to the EFZ’s concerns that many church members who want to be vaccinated are being turned away due to either shortage of vaccines or manpower at vaccination centres by allowing churches to call vaccination teams to their premises.
The shortage of vaccines is now a thing of the past as Government has put in place measures to ensure seamless procurement and delivery of vaccines.
Zimbabwe is infact among four African countries leading in the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Health Organisation (WHO) Covid-19 vaccine supply tracker says Zimbabwe, Egypt, Lesotho and Morocco have procured vaccines enough for 98 percent of their citizens.
“The IMF-WHO vaccine supply tracker recognises Zimbabwe’s efforts in securing vaccines for 98 percent of its population, one of a few African countries to achieve such a monumental milestone,” said the WHO report.
We want at this juncture to implore the leaders of various churches to take a leading role in educating and encouraging their members to be vaccinated so that together we can fight this pandemic which continues to claim lives daily in Zimbabwe and across the globe.
Online Reporter