Rumbidzai Ngwenya
AUTHORITIES say the ongoing Covid vaccination blitz will increase the country’s chances of reaching national herd immunity soon.
Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, the national Covid-19 co-ordinator in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office, Agnes Mahomva, said the country was on track to reach herd immunity by June if current trends continued.
This comes after the latest vaccination blitz, which commenced on Monday, saw 13 662 people getting their first jabs on the day.
“We have started very well and we are hoping that we will manage to vaccinate 70 percent of the population by mid-year to reach herd immunity.
“However, this will depend on how the blitz continues. But so far we have hit the ground running and are confident that more people will show up as the blitz progresses, because usually it is the first days that glitches are expected,” Mahomva said.
She further urged people who had not been vaccinated to take advantage of the blitz, warning that the pandemic was still far from being defeated.
According to the ministry of Health, 13 662 people received their first dose nationwide on Monday.
This saw the number of people who have received the first dose moving up to 4 428 726 from 4 415 064.
On the other hand, 2 101 people received their second doses, bringing the cumulative figure to 3 443 832 — while 3 661 people received their third doses, also taking the total figure here to 181 798.
The current blitz, targeting all eligible people from the age of 12 upwards, is aimed at scaling up vaccination numbers.
The first phase is running until April 3, while the second phase will run from May 2 to May 15.
The government has set up teams to carry out the vaccinations in schools and will also add the Covid-19 vaccination to the general childhood vaccination programmes.