The Sunday Mail
Phillipa Mukome-Chinhoi
WHEN I first heard about Covid-19 in 2019, I thought the world was coming to an end.
The number of people who were dying, mainly in the developed countries, painted a gloomy picture and naturally I was scared.
What will become of us, a developing country? I asked myself.
I was terrified as the world lost some of the best brains. Scientists, doctors, nurses, teachers, priests, politicians, the aged and ordinary members of society among others died.
What bothered me was the fact that health experts appeared clueless on how to handle the coronavirus.
Similarly, I realised then that not even the best equipped hospitals in the world helped stop the number of casualties.
I for a moment slipped into depression!
The situation got worse when Zimbabwe recorded its first case in March 2020. I thought of my young children. Who was going to take care of them in the event that I died, considering I am a widow and the sole breadwinner?
I thought about my old parents, my close relatives and the stress got worse. I had learnt that older people and those with underlying conditions were at high risk.
All I could think of then was death, death, death!
I believe I am not the only one who went through this torture.
However, I was relieved when I heard that a vaccine had been developed. I was even much happy when our Government introduced a Covid-19 vaccination rollout programme.
The vaccine, we were told, reduced the effects or impact of coronavirus.
But again, hesitancy creeped in as the vaccine rollout programme began. Who can blame me?
As usual, social media was awash with all sorts of theories –most of them which later turned out to be nothing but lies.
Social media theories claimed that those who took the jab would die within a year while others wrongly reported that the vaccine made people infertile.
Some churches and traditional healers also played a part in discouraging people from being vaccinated. Naturally, several people were left at crossroads.
To get, or not get vaccinated became the question. But Government remained vigilant and helped us through.
To guarantee productivity and return to normalcy, the State announced that all essential staff was to be prioritised in the vaccination process. The success of the initial stages of the programme became an eye-opener for many. It is then that I, together with many other people, realised that the vaccine was good and meant to save lives.
This coupled with awareness programmes, led by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, on radio, television and newspapers among other channels resulted in many people understanding the need for the jab.
Thank God I have never tested positive to Covid-19 thus far.
It was by the grace of the Lord and getting vaccinated up to the third dose that I stayed safe. I am patiently waiting for the next dose(s).
A snap survey I did confirmed I was not the only one scared.
“I had fear of the unknown. I was pregnant. What if the vaccine would have led me to bore a deformed child,” quizzed Mary Musarurwa from Manyame Low density suburb?
Her concerns were later proved to be misplaced though.
The vaccine had been approved by top scientists and pregnant women that took the shot went on to deliver healthy and bouncing babies. Others like Madzimai Stella Tsorokoto of Johanne Masowe Chishanu were held back by religion.
They had to pray and fast for days in order for them to do the noble thing.
“As a prophetess, I had to seek divine answers. I prayed and eventually got vaccinated,” she said.
“As a church leader I have never stopped anyone from being vaccinated. I actually encouraged them to pray and fast before vaccination as was instructed to me by the holy spirit.”
Archbishop Henry Ziwerere, President of the Zion Bishops Conference of Zimbabwe acknowledges the pandemic caused a lot of despair.
“Our members also seek medical treatment from health institutions but we have many that believe in faith healing to a greater extent. But this time around we encouraged them to heed the World Health Organisation and Government’s call to get vaccinated,” he said.
Sekuru George Kandiero, president of Zinatha said those that rejected the vaccine were doing so out of ignorance.
His colleague sekuru Chirume Chirume, a traditional healer, said they had to fight hard to dispel myths among their followers.
“We held programmes to teach and motivate our members to get vaccinated because false social media reports were causing serious confusion. Most of our members refused the jabs because they were misled into believing that they were harmful,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, the Covid-19 vaccination programme which was introduced in March 2021 is still continuing for free until all eligible people get shots.
To date, more than 6,4 million people have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
