News / National
Border officials in huge turnout for Covid-19 vaccination
02 Mar 2021 at 06:39hrs | Views
THERE was a huge turnout of essential service providers at the Beitbridge border post yesterday, mainly those working at the port of entry, to take up the Sinopharm jabs against Covid-19.
Immigration and customs officers led by the Assistant Regional Immigration officer-in-charge Mr Nqobile Ncube were the first to be inoculated.
The programme rolled into Matabeleland South last week with health authorities first targeting frontline workers based in the remote areas.
Yesterday they moved to the urban settlements targeting security agents, health workers, customs, immigration officers, and other border agencies.
District Medical Officer Dr Lenos Samhere recently said they had received doses to cover 1 402 people.
"We started off vaccinating those in the remote areas, who are the most vulnerable because of the location and would have challenges in case of emergencies," he said.
Mr Ncube said the border workers had been fully sensitised on the entire vaccination process and hence the full house yesterday.
"This was long overdue. When we got the schedule from the Ministry of Health and Child Care last week, we then engaged most of the border workers virtually with the assistance of the health experts.
"Those that had questions or needed clarification on myths and stigma around it were assisted. In fact, we are the most vulnerable people considering the nature of our job at the Sadc region's busiest inland port of entry," he said.
Mr Ncube said the expectation among most border stakeholders was that the vaccination was one of the safety nets to protect them. He said the move to vaccinate them was enough testimony of the Government's commitment to creating an ideal environment for its frontline workers.
Addressing the border workers, Beitbridge District Hospital's Matron, Sister Memory Chimedza said they had not encountered any problems with those who had taken the jab in rural areas.
She said due diligence had been taken to ensure the health safety of the people.
Immigration and customs officers led by the Assistant Regional Immigration officer-in-charge Mr Nqobile Ncube were the first to be inoculated.
The programme rolled into Matabeleland South last week with health authorities first targeting frontline workers based in the remote areas.
Yesterday they moved to the urban settlements targeting security agents, health workers, customs, immigration officers, and other border agencies.
District Medical Officer Dr Lenos Samhere recently said they had received doses to cover 1 402 people.
"We started off vaccinating those in the remote areas, who are the most vulnerable because of the location and would have challenges in case of emergencies," he said.
"This was long overdue. When we got the schedule from the Ministry of Health and Child Care last week, we then engaged most of the border workers virtually with the assistance of the health experts.
"Those that had questions or needed clarification on myths and stigma around it were assisted. In fact, we are the most vulnerable people considering the nature of our job at the Sadc region's busiest inland port of entry," he said.
Mr Ncube said the expectation among most border stakeholders was that the vaccination was one of the safety nets to protect them. He said the move to vaccinate them was enough testimony of the Government's commitment to creating an ideal environment for its frontline workers.
Addressing the border workers, Beitbridge District Hospital's Matron, Sister Memory Chimedza said they had not encountered any problems with those who had taken the jab in rural areas.
She said due diligence had been taken to ensure the health safety of the people.
Source - chronicle
