News / National
'Enough vaccines for everyone'
14 Dec 2021 at 05:46hrs | Views
President Mnangagwa yesterday said the country has enough Covid-19 jabs for everyone who wants to be vaccinated, including those who want a third dose in the wake of the new Omicron variant.
Most of the vaccines, said the President, were bought using local resources unlike other African countries that got financial support from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), among other multilateral financial institutions.
He said this while addressing hundreds of people who had gathered to witness the official opening of a US$$1,6 million Kudzanayi Long Distance Bus Terminus in Gweru yesterday.
"When this virus was first detected, other countries received funding from World Bank and IMF while we did not get anything.
"We, however, managed to pool our own resources because we said whether they like us or not, our health and the health of the majority Zimbabweans was supreme and out of all odds, we managed to buy enough vaccines," he said.
President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was one of the top five African countries to have enough vaccines for its citizens.
The recent discovery of the Omicron variant, said the President, had seen a surge in new infections in the country.
"Before the new variant, Covid-19 new infections in the country had gone down. This virus had gone down in terms of new infections, but there has been a surge following the discovery of Omicron," he said.
The President urged citizens to go for booster jabs in their numbers to boost their immunity so that in the event of being hit by the virus, it will not result in hospitalisation.
Zimbabwe started administering Covid-19 booster shots to frontline workers, people with chronic diseases, and the elderly from the beginning of December.
The President added that the new variant, according to experts was mild, with those who have received their first and second jabs unlikely to be severely attacked.
Most of the vaccines, said the President, were bought using local resources unlike other African countries that got financial support from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), among other multilateral financial institutions.
He said this while addressing hundreds of people who had gathered to witness the official opening of a US$$1,6 million Kudzanayi Long Distance Bus Terminus in Gweru yesterday.
"When this virus was first detected, other countries received funding from World Bank and IMF while we did not get anything.
"We, however, managed to pool our own resources because we said whether they like us or not, our health and the health of the majority Zimbabweans was supreme and out of all odds, we managed to buy enough vaccines," he said.
The recent discovery of the Omicron variant, said the President, had seen a surge in new infections in the country.
"Before the new variant, Covid-19 new infections in the country had gone down. This virus had gone down in terms of new infections, but there has been a surge following the discovery of Omicron," he said.
The President urged citizens to go for booster jabs in their numbers to boost their immunity so that in the event of being hit by the virus, it will not result in hospitalisation.
Zimbabwe started administering Covid-19 booster shots to frontline workers, people with chronic diseases, and the elderly from the beginning of December.
The President added that the new variant, according to experts was mild, with those who have received their first and second jabs unlikely to be severely attacked.
Source - The Herald
