THE national Covid-19 mass vaccination programme has been rolled out in all correctional facilities across the country with at least 5 000 inmates having been vaccinated so far.
In Bulawayo, out of 3 641 inmates in four prisons, a total
of 1 190 prisoners had been vaccinated by yesterday.
A total of 613 inmates got their first doses while 577 had
their second jab. In Bulawayo, the exercise is largely targeting all adults
above the age of 18.
In an interview yesterday, Zimbabwe Prisons and
Correctional Service (ZPCS) health services director Dr Evidence Gaka said
although the vaccination for the inmates is not compulsory, they were happy
with the uptake.
“We started vaccinating inmates in March when the Ministry
of Health and Child Care shared with us the treatment protocols and the
criteria on who is eligible for vaccination. We noted that the inmates are at
high risk since they live in congregate circles and also within the same
environment as the officers,” he said.
“This is an ongoing exercise and so far, we have vaccinated
about 5 000 inmates in all our 46 facilities across the country and we are
happy with the uptake. It, however, should be noted that while we are
administering these vaccines to inmates, it is optional and those who don’t
want are not forced.”
Dr Gaka said they have over 19 000 inmates in 46 facilities
countrywide. He said in terms of Covid-19 infections among inmates, there are
326 active cases dotted across the country.
“We have 326 active cases among our inmates, but, however,
we remain on high alert. Everyone is screened for Covid-19 on admission into
our prisons including transfers, which for now are being discouraged in light
of the surge in cases,” he said.
“Those who test positive are isolated until they fully
recover and those are some of the infection and control measures that we have
put in place.” Dr Gaka said they have intensified campaigns to their inmates
across the country.
“The major challenge that we have in prisons is the issue
of practising social distancing and thus once you get a confirmed case in a
cell, you are assured that a lot more will also test positive. We continue to
conduct campaigns across the country as we share with inmates the benefits of
getting the Covid-19 vaccination,” he said.
Last year in July, ZPCS officially launched its Covid-19
operational plan, which is aligned to the national health guidelines.
The plan offers an overall guidance on how to manage
confirmed and suspected cases of Covid-19 at the country’s prisons.
Zimbabwe’s free and voluntary vaccination programme aims to
reach 10 million citizens to achieve herd immunity.
By Sunday, 29 344 people had received their first dose and
14 327 their second since the launch of the mass vaccination, giving a total of
955 656 and 619 883 people who had received the first and second jab,
respectively.
Government is targeting to vaccinate one million citizens within the next two weeks of the extended level four national lockdown. Zimbabwe has received rave reviews for its Covid-19 response and special praise from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the way it has confronted the global pandemic.
By Sunday, the country had recorded a total of 97 894
infections, 65 913 recoveries and 3 094 deaths which has prompted Government to
embark on a massive Covid-19 vaccination drive which has now spread to various
health centres in all districts.
As of July 25, 2021, a total of 1 447 342 people had
received the first dose while 680 060 got the second jab.
Bulawayo province is targeting to inoculate 400 000
residents to achieve herd immunity. Due to serious manpower shortage, some
people are being turned away after exceeding the daily limit.
As part of efforts to minimise the time spent in queues,
Government is in the process of roping in extra personnel from security and
defence forces to boost the numbers of personnel at vaccination centres.
The country recently received two million doses of Sinovac
vaccines from China which saw Bulawayo and Harare receiving 100 000 doses each
while eight other provinces got 50 000 doses each.
Addressing the nation recently, President Mnangagwa said
about 80 percent of all new infections recorded in the country in the past few
weeks are due to the Delta variant that originated in India. Chronicle
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