Masvingo Struggles To Meet Demand For COVID-19 Vaccines
Health authorities in Masvingo say there has been an overwhelming response for inoculation against the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) which has resulted in the vaccine occasionally running out at health centres.
Long queues are being witnessed at the vaccination centres in the Ancient City including the Masvingo General Hospital and local council clinics in Rujeko, Mucheke and Runyararo West.
This has resulted in an outcry from the public who are turned away at the vaccination centres for lack of either the first or second doses of the vaccines.
Masvingo COVID-19 Provincial Taskforce spokesperson, Rodgers Irimayi confirmed to NewZimbabwe.com that the vaccines were regularly running out the stock. Said Irimayi:
Vaccines come in batches and they are dispatched to provinces, districts and vaccination centres as they come.
As soon as the country receives, they are allocated to provinces where they are quickly exhausted.
… Where we have high populations, we experience high turnout and overwhelming responses at vaccination centres.
The periodic shortage of vaccines has mostly affected higher learning institutions’ students where college authorities have decreed only vaccinated learners would be allowed to attend lectures.
Moreover, the government recently decreed that all public workers should be vaccinated against the deadly pandemic resulting in more people thronging vaccination centres.
The government has ordered that all government employees must be vaccinated before 15 October or face disciplinary action.
