Bulawayo ready for COVID-19 vaccine roll-out

BULAWAYO yesterday received its first COVID-19 vaccines in preparation for an inoculation programme which starts on Monday amid revelations that six high-density areas top in confirmed cases and fatalities.

Bulawayo has recorded 198 COVID-19 fatalities and 5 162 confirmed cases against 1 414 deaths and 35 315 cases nationally.

Bulawayo City Council (BCC) health director Edwin Sibanda said Nkulumane, Lobengula, Entumbane, Cowdray Park and Pumula have so far recorded the highest number of COVID-19 fatalities.

Emganwini, Nketa, Cowdray Park, Nkulumane, Pumula and the city Centre have the highest number of confirmed cases, Sibanda said in a statement detailing the council's COVID-19 response.

"Public health surveillance systems are currently in place to assist in the early detection, monitoring, prediction and prevention of human illness," Sibanda said as he encouraged behavioural change in the fight against pandemic.

"The integration of both indicator and event based surveillance activities have assisted in the early detection and management of the COVID-19 and pandemic in Bulawayo."

Meanwhile, the city council yesterday took delivery of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine whose efficacy is rated at between 79 to 86%.

Bulawayo has been allocated five teams to spearhead the programme.

In Harare, it started on Thursday with Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, who also doubles up as Health and Child Care minister, taking the jab. Government targets to vaccinate approximately 49 000 health workers under the first phase.

Acting provincial medical director for Bulawayo, Welcome Mlilo said they were targeting to vaccinate nearly 6 000 frontline workers in the province.

"Under this first phase targeting frontline workers, we expect to vaccinate over 5 500 people in the public sector and about 500 in the private sector and our number will be about 6 500 in total and that is also the number of vaccines we will receive," Mlilo said early this week.