Kwekwe District rolls out Covid-19 jabs to schools

Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
KWEKWE District has started rolling out Covid-19 vaccination to schools, as it seeks to attain herd immunity by year end.

To date 69 002 people have received the first jab, while 47 776 have received the second jab in Kwekwe.

A total of 116 768 people have received both doses, translating to 40 percent of total Kwekwe population.
In a bid to boost the vaccination numbers, the district has intensified its vaccination programme by introducing mobile vaccination in rural areas targeting the elderly and the vulnerable.

During a recent district stakeholders meeting, the chairperson of district Covid-19 Taskforce Mr Vitalis Kwashira said the mining district’s vaccination drive was lagging behind.

“We are rolling out the vaccination programme within schools now. We are currently targeting 55 secondary schools in both rural and urban areas and we will be vaccinating those aged 16 and above so that we reduce the risk of students spreading the virus among themselves and,” said Mr Kwashira.

He said exam classes will be given first priority.
“We want the exam classes to be vaccinated first so that they get enough time to prepare for their examinations. Also, as they gather for discussions and other revision classes, they reduce the spread of the virus among themselves, teachers and relatives,” he said.

“We have made sure that almost every clinic in every part of Kwekwe is well equipped so that they can vaccinate anyone who is willing. We want to ensure that by December we would have at least reached about 70 percent of the total Kwekwe population.”

During a recent visit to the city, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga expressed displeasure at the vaccination figures, which stood at 33 percent by then and urged residents to get vaccinated and emulate Victoria Falls which has already reached herd immunity.

Commissioning Kwekwe Infectious Diseases Hospital last month, Vice-President Chiwenga described the figures as “shameful” and urged residents to get vaccinated.