The Sunday Mail
Conrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
JUSTICE, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi, has applauded the Mashonaland West provincial Covid-19 taskforce team for coming up with strategies that have increased vaccination uptake to 80 000 in the province.
In April, the Government expressed concern over the apparent vaccine hesitancy in the province, after only 20 000 people had been administered with the Covid-19 vaccine.
Following interventions by the taskforce, the number of fully vaccinated people rose to 79 000, while an additional 45 000 have received their first jab.
Speaking during a meeting to address rising cases of new infections in the province in Chinhoyi yesterday, Minister Ziyambi said the province remained an epicentre of the deadly pandemic.
The meeting was attended by the provincial taskforce on Covid-19 comprising local legislators and provincial Government departmental heads.
“I am pleased by the number of people that have been vaccinated in the province,” he said.
“As a province, we were among the worst performing provinces because we had low vaccination figures.
“The 79 000 figure shows that as a province we are headed towards our herd immunity target.
“Our focus should now be on Kariba and Chirundu until these two areas attain herd immunity.
“It is possible to achieve this because it was done in Victoria Falls whose population is way more than that of Kariba and Chirundu.”
Minister Ziyambi said he was concerned about the rising cases in Hurungwe and Makonde districts, where most of the new cases can be traced to neighbouring Zambia.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Mrs Mary Mliswa-Chikoka, who also heads the provincial taskforce, said a blitz to encourage vaccination uptake has since been launched across the province.
