Zimbabwe govt facing vaccine distribution hurdles

THE government is facing a number of logistical challenges as it tries to come up with a roll-out strategy for Covid-19 vaccines for the majority of the population.

As of Thursday, Zimbabwe had recorded 1 160 deaths from the confirmed 32 646 cases of the deadly respiratory disease since March 2020.

This comes as most of those new infections and fatalities have been reported since the start of this year.

There is hope that the country would be able to slow down the second wave of the pandemic once the vaccination programme kicks off.

Zimbabwe is set to receive at least three million doses of Covid-19 vaccines as part of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Covax facility.

In order to achieve head immunity which will see at least two thirds of Zimbabwe's 14 million population vaccinated, the country needs to purchase the remainder of the doses.

Already China and Russia have offered Harare a facility to purchase more doses to compliment the Covax batch.

However, the government is facing significant logistical challenges of how to store and transport the vaccines when they finally arrive.

"We reiterate that Zimbabwe has taken a measured approach on the acquisition of Covid-19 vaccine…the logistics of transport and maintaining the cold-chain are extremely difficult considering that they may require temperatures as low as minus 70 degrees celsius and that is a challenge for distribution in rural remote areas," Health ministry acting permanent secretary, Robert Mudyaradima, said in a written response to the Human Rights NGO Forum, which had asked to know Zimbabwe's preparedness in rolling out vaccines.

Besides the transportation and storage challenges, the government has to deal with the issue of restitution in the event that a person passes away or suffers side effects from the vaccine.

Just like any vaccine, there have been a number of cases globally of people passing away after reacting negatively to the doses.

"The proposed liability and indemnity agreements with manufacturers to Zimbabwe need to be looked at carefully.

"We also need to choose and deploy vaccines in a way that adverse effects can be traced to a particular vaccine and manufacturer.

"There are scientifically different types of vaccines that are being developed with different degrees of efficacy and risks of side effects," Mudyaradima added.

He also reiterated that once the vaccines arrive, health workers and security services will be the first to get the doses.

The elderly and those suffering from chronic diseases would also be among the first group to receive the vaccines.