“We are not prepared to administer the COVID-19 vaccine,” Zimbabwe Health Workers
Despite the country receiving its first batch of the SINOPHARM COVID-19 vaccine this morning, Zimbabwe health workers are not prepared to administer the vaccine. The president of the Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA), Enock Dongo confirms.
“We as frontline workers and nurses particularly are ill-prepared. We have not received training to be able to also pass on the information to our clients. There is need for the government to ensure that the district centres are well capacitated to store the vaccines.”
“We tried to get the government to decongest hospitals for our safety, and also provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) but it did not work. So our hope id pinned on the vaccine but we do not know what is it,” Dongo said
“We are not prepared to administer the COVID-19 vaccine,” Zimbabwe Health Workers
The government of Zimbabwe ensures the citizens that once vaccine is in Zimbabwe, it will be subjected to a 48 hour intensive verification by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ). Secretary of Information Nick Mangwana also confirms that the government has purchased 600 00 doses of the SINOPHARM vaccine that will be in Zimbabwe in early March.
The President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa this morning took to twitter informing everyone about the vaccination process to commence this week.
“The first batch of vaccines for Zimbabwe has been successfully delivered. We start vaccinating Zimbabweans this week. The faster our country is protected against the virus, the faster Zimbabwe’s economy can flourish. God bless you all, God bless Zimbabwe,” the president said.
The first batch of the delivered vaccine covers less than 2 per cent of the entire population. Since the vaccination program is in 3 phases the first priority are the health care workers. Some have questioned the efficacy of the SIMOPHARM after reports in Pakistan claim that the vaccine is not effective for people over the age of 60.