THE effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines is manifesting in Victoria Falls where new cases have remained low compared to other areas.
No vaccinated person has died so far in the resort town
which has achieved herd immunity following a massive vaccination exercise
launched by President Mnangagwa.
Zimbabwe’s death toll has risen to 2 418 after 86 deaths on
Thursday, and 78 872 cumulative cases since the first case was detected in
March last year.Matabeleland North cumulative cases have risen to 3 608 and 35
deaths.
There are 1 643 active cases in the province of which 460
are in Hwange town which has been experiencing a sharp rise in cases lately.
Victoria Falls, which rolled out mass vaccination in March
has so far vaccinated 21 030 people and has 156 active cases.
There have been 21 deaths in Hwange district and all of
them were people who were not vaccinated, according to District Medical Officer
Dr Fungai Musinami-Mvura.
Health authorities have said a majority of new cases were
recorded in people who were not vaccinated with only a few reported amongst
people who were inoculated.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care has therefore
dedicated the bulk of the 15 000 doses received recently for Hwange District to
Hwange urban so as to build a significant immunity system as in Victoria Falls.
The whole district had vaccinated 601 people as of
Wednesday amid concerns about low uptake in Hwange urban.
Dr Musinami-Mvura said there is need for behaviour change
among residents especially in Hwange where there have been complaints about
partying and shebeens and deliberate disregard of health protocols.
“The general observation is that we have more cases and
deaths in Hwange than in Victoria Falls.
“This is the reason why we have dedicated the bulk of the
vaccines to Hwange urban, excluding even Hwange rural areas so that we deal
with the new cases which are exponentially rising.
“From a health perspective, it appears the vaccines really
work because we are recording less cases in Victoria Falls where a majority of
people have been vaccinated. All people we have lost in the district were not
vaccinated,” said Dr Musinami-Mvura.
She said the first and second waves had nine deaths while
12 have been reported during the third variant wave, and all of them are people
who were not vaccinated.
Three of the 12 died yesterday in Hwange urban. “We
encourage people to get vaccinated because this is crucial in saving life.
“If you are vaccinated chances of getting severe infection
and dying are very low, so the jab is the only sustainable method of prevention
so far, coupled with strict adherence to set protocols such as masking up all
the time, social distancing and avoiding gatherings among others,” said the
DMO. Herald
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