By ZBC Reporter
Vice President General (Rtd) Dr Constantino Chiwenga has received his second Sinopharm vaccine dosage at Wilkins Hospital in Harare, as the country intensifies its vaccination programme.
The Vice President, who was the first Zimbabwean to receive the jab on February 18th, got his second today, reiterating that
He said the government is re-hiring retired health workers to augment frontline staff who are working to provide healthcare to the nation.
“We are engaging the medical staff from the uniformed forces, local authorities, our retired medical staff… We re engaging them because if we are to achieve the 60 per cent herd immunity we have to do it faster and we have to have enough manpower on the ground,” said VP Chiwenga.
Vaccination is necessary for travel and socialisation, he added.
“At the same we continue to educate our populace so that they understand. even today when you open any media, people are now talking about… you can not travel without being vaccinated…
“Some are calling it the green passport, even if you are to join others in a restaurant, you must produce the passport. So we want to educate our people that it is in their best interests to get vaccinated,” he said.
Zimbabwe has to date received a donation of 400 000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China, and an additional 144 000 Sinovac doses. at least 37 000 people have so far been vaccinated, against a targetted 10 million citizens needed to achieve herd immunity.