The Sunday News
Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Sunday News Reporter
INDIA has donated 75 000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Zimbabwe to bolster its efforts to arrest the marauding pandemic.
India becomes the second country to donate to Zimbabwe after the country received 200 000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China on Monday.
The vaccination programme has already been rolled out and Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Minister Dr Constantino Chiwenga became the first person to be vaccinated on Thursday.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa expressed gratitude to India for the donation through his twitter account.
“We are grateful to our Indian friends for committing to donate 75,000 Covid-19 vaccines and for the opportunity to buy more moving forward. We are working tirelessly to obtain sufficient vaccines so we can overcome this virus and revive our economy,” he said.
The countrywide vaccination of the target population under the first phase will start on Monday once Government has completed the training of all relevant staff that would take part in the exercise.
Vice-President Chiwenga
Dr Chiwenga said the vaccines will be transported to all the provinces on Thursday and Friday while training of other relevant staff in the vaccination exercise will be completed over the weekend.
Dr Chiwenga said the countrywide vaccination will begin on Monday once the training has been completed.
“The programme is going to start rolling out today (Thursday) when the vaccines will go to the provinces. This will be done today and tomorrow. The training programme for the provincial and district staff was done and completed. Over the weekend we will be doing the lower levels. The vaccination countrywide will start on Monday,” he said.
Dr Chiwenga said it was important for every citizen to be vaccinated although it is voluntary.
“It is in the interest of all of us to be vaccinated so that we do not pass on the disease to the next person.
More vaccines are expected in the country until the required quantities are achieved in the shortest possible time. Zimbabweans must continue to uphold some preventive measures even after being vaccinated. When you have been vaccinated it doesn’t mean that it is the end. We must remain on guard,” he said.
