THE Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation (Viset) says the government should also prioritise its members in the on-going Covid-19 vaccination programme as they too are at high risk of catching the lethal virus.
Speaking during a recent vendors’ seminar, Viset vice chairperson Rosemary Mudzamiri said the government must ensure the equitable distribution of the vaccines.
“As vendors, we are also frontline workers just like workers from the ministry of Health — we are exposed to the lethal virus too.
“We need the government’s intervention so that we are safe from this virus because we work in areas that are overpopulated and are likely to be Covid-19 hotspots,” Mudzamiri said.
As at June 1, at least 678 003 Zimbabweans had received their first jab of the vaccine, while 353 278, their second, since the country started the inoculation programme in February this year.
Mudzamiri said the government should also provide full information about vaccines to counter falsehoods being peddled through social media.
“Now people are afraid to be vaccinated because they are afraid to be vilified by their counterparts. So, we really need the government’s help or else we will perish because of this ignorance being relayed by different people pretending to be experts,” Mudzamiri said.