Chronicle Editor
The moment that we had all been waiting for arrived early yesterday morning.
A consignment of 200 000 vaccines – the first of many to follow – landed in Harare as the country steps forward in its campaign against Covid-19. China donated the Sinopharm doses that would be administered to 100 000 people as a person must get two jabs of the vaccine.
Since an immunisation strategy was already in place well before the shipment arrived, the real work, the first phase of the vaccination programme will start, most likely as early as this week.
In addition to the Chinese donation that arrived yesterday, the Government has bought 600 000 doses from China under a US$100 million fund that aims to get about 10 million people immunised against a disease that, unprecedentedly, has had the world under lockdown after infecting 109 million and killing 2,4 million globally since January last year.
The 600 000 vaccines, enough for 300 000 people, should land early next month. More procurement and donations are expected from Russia, India as well as Britain.
Under phase one of what will certainly be an enormous national vaccination programme, frontline workers, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions will get treatment at no cost. The second phase will cater for lecturers, teachers and schools staff and other staff at medium risk depending with epidemiological picture of the disease.
The third phase will target those at relatively low risk until everyone who is eligible and willing is covered.
Vice President and Health and Child Care Minister Constantino Chiwenga received the consignment at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport yesterday.
“This is a timely donation given the recent ravages and tragedies that visited our nation through Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
“You have been here and you have seen how our people have suffered from this pandemic. We receive this vaccine as a dream of hope to the nation that finally we maybe on the verge of returning to some semblance of normalcy that is what we are aiming to achieve.
The vaccine also offers the possibility that our people who have borne the brunt of the economic ravages of the pandemic might finally turn a new page following the unfortunate interruptions to the economic activities that have been necessitated by the need to control the virus.”
VP Chiwenga is right to describe the vaccine delivery as a dream of hope for our people who have been impacted so harshly by the disease. More than 35 100 people have been infected, 1 400 losing their lives as a result of the disease that has also wrought much socio-economic challenges on the people.
We are hopeful that the technical examination of the shipment would be undertaken as fast as possible and with no incident to pave way for the inoculations starting this week.
The next few months will be important for the country as a successful vaccination exercise coupled with viable efficacies of the vaccines would get all of us healthy and ready to live our lives again, ready to work for the continued revival of the economy.
As this happens, we must realise that a vaccine against Covid-19, as a vaccine against any infection, is not 100 percent in making us immune to the coronavirus. Experts always explain that a vaccine only lessens the strength of an infection.
This means that, even if the 10 million vaccination target is reached, people will still contract Covid-19, some could fall sick as a result, but the risk of the symptoms getting as bad as they are now, would be substantially reduced.
With the foregoing in mind, citizens will not discard the face mask, regular handwashing, sanitisation, social distancing and general vigilance over our personal health too early.
Online Reporter