Health personnel, who include doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other support staff in Mashonaland West province are generally reluctant to receive the Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine.
The provincial medical director, Gift Masocha said only 46% of the province’s health workers had been jabbed in the first 10 days of the inoculation exercise which started about two weeks ago.
The low uptake of the coronavirus vaccine has been blamed on negative publicity on social media platforms surrounding the safety and efficacy of the doses. Said Masocha:
During the initial vaccination programme targeting frontline health workers, we didn’t do so well as our people didn’t accept it.
Only 46% were vaccinated, therefore, we need to go on an outreach exercise to conscientise and educate them on the Sinopharm vaccine.
There is a lot of negative publicity especially on social media about the vaccine. People are asking and emphasising on whether it is safe.
Mashonaland West ranks fourth out of the 10 provinces most affected by COVID-19, having so far recorded 2 039 positive cases in seven districts.