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Roselyne Sachiti Features, Health and Society Editor
Zimbabwe is today expected to start Covid-19 vaccinations.
A total of 49 000 health workers and thousands of other high-risk frontline staff are scheduled for stage one of phase one using the first batch of the Sinopharm vaccines that arrived from China on Monday.
The vaccinations are voluntary and no one will be forced.
With the vaccinations being rolled out, some sections of society are keen to understand whether being vaccinated means they will no longer wear masks and practice other non- pharmaceutical methods of prevention.
“Even when vaccinated, people still need to practice all other recommended Covid -19 prevention behaviours, like the proper wearing of face masks, regular washing of hands with soap and running water, maintaining social and physical distancing and avoid gatherings as we have always been emphasising,” said Ministry of Health and Child Care spokesperson Mr Donald Mujiri.
Non pharmaceutical methods of preventing Covid-19 reduce the risk of infection.
Ministry of Child and Health Care Acting director nursing services, Dr Lilian Dodzo last week told The Herald that face masks should be worn in public places or when one gets a get a visitor in the home who is not part of the household.
“It should be made up of three layers ( outer layer should be water resistant, second layer/ middle layer should be synthetic non- woven material which should retain microbes and at the same time enhance filtration and breathing and the inner layer should be moisture resistant,” she said.
She said the shape of the mask should allow covering of the nose, mouth and sides of face.
“The face mask should snuggly fit and rest on the bridge of the nose without causing discomfort. One should wash or sanitise hands before touching the face to wear it. Always avoid touching the face mask especially the outer part to avoid risk of transmission of the coronavirus,” she added
She said it is important to wash or sanitize hands once one happens to touch the mask.
Responding to a question by The Herald, recently during a media roundtable ahead of the International Aids Society (IAS) COVID-19 Conference: Prevention, IAS past president, Dr Linda-Gail Bekker, said wearing cloth masks cuts the risk of contracting Covid-19.
She said face masks reduce the viral load when one comes into contact with someone who is breathing out SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
“My understanding of that is when we breathe out, we breathe out a plume of air. And we now know that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted as small particles in the air. It’s airborne. That plume moves in front of us,” Dr Bekker who is an infectious disease specialist from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
She said it is important to wear masks as they interrupt plume.
“It doesn’t mean you don’t breathe, but it breaks the plume, and to a certain extent, protects you from breathing directly somebody else’s plume into your lungs.”
According to the World Health Organisation, below are the basics of how to wear a mask:
- Clean your hands before you put your mask on, as well as before and after you take it off, and after you touch it at any time.
- Make sure it covers both your nose, mouth and chin.
- When you take off a mask, store it in a clean plastic bag, and every day either wash it if it’s a fabric mask, or dispose of a medical mask in a trash bin.
- Don’t use masks with valves.
Online Reporter