THE government says it has registered a 25 percent drop in Covid-19 vaccine uptake in the Zvishavane District, as several people have become complacent amid a decrease in new infections and deaths.
Zvishavane District health environmental officer Sam Betera said the low turnout was being witnessed among artisanal miners and members of different religious groups.
“Apart from the high drop rate by 25 percent from dose one to dose two there is low uptake of the vaccines especially from special populations like religious groups and artisanal miners,” Betera said.
He however, said the district was making efforts to conscientise people on the need to take up the vaccine.
A snap survey by the Daily News on Sunday on Friday showed that some vaccination centres such as Kandodo Hall had no queues at all.
Some residents said the health officials were no longer coming because of the low uptake with only a handful of people seen queuing at Mandava clinic.
“There is not much pressure these days, it seems as if residents are becoming reluctant. Maybe it is because businesses have opened so people are trying to make ends meet hence cannot afford coming here for the doses,” one of the nurses at Mandava Clinic said.
One of the residents, Ntokozo Zhou, who was waiting to get a jab, said some people were being discouraged because the first dose was sometimes not available.
“But if the supply was consistent there could be a high uptake,” Zhou said.
Zimbabwe Miners Federation chairperson Timothy Chizuzu said there was also a need for mobile vaccination centres in remote areas to cater for artisanal miners.
“Sometimes artisanal miners will be in remote areas looking for minerals and they might find it difficult to leave their gold ores and go for vaccination.
“It is better if the government comes up with mobile vaccination centres to cater for these miners who will be working in the outskirts,” he said.
Zimbabwe is on a drive to vaccinate at least 10 million people by December in order to reach herd immunity having vaccinated over three million people as of Friday.
by Tamary Chikiwa