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| Doctor Amadeus Shamhu |
Kimberly Kusauka
Masvingo province has recorded a surge in demand yet low supply of Covid-19, vaccines, Provincial Medical Director Doctor Amadeus Shamhu has said.
Dr Shamhu said of late, most people who hesitated to take the jabs since the introduction of the vaccination programme in February this year because they were misinformed are now scrambling for it.
The rush has since led to the majority of the vaccination centers running out of first doses and they are only left with second doses said Shamhu.
“At this moment in time people are now well informed about the vaccine and they are rushing to the nearby centers to get vaccinated.
“This has resulted in the exhaustion of first doses and centers are only left with second doses. However we are waiting for more vaccines which we were promised but we do not know the quantity and the date we are going to receive the vaccines,” said Shamhu.
The Covid-19 taskforce spokesperson Rogers Irimayi said people are eager to get vaccinated as evidenced by the increased uptake in vaccines leading to exhaustion in other centers. He said they are expecting more vaccines soon which will be dispatched to districts as soon as they are received.
“People are now eager to get vaccinated. This is evidenced by the increased number of people who are getting vaccinated leading to exhaustion of vaccines in most centers.
“We are expecting more vaccines since the demand is high and they will be dispatched to districts as soon as we receive them,” said Irimayi.
Covid-19 vaccines are running out in most parts of the country and Bulawayo (the second largest City) recently suspended the vaccination programme for a week but has since resumed after receiving around 3 600 doses of Sinopharm.
The country is yet to receive 25 000 doses of Sputnik-V Covid-19 vaccines from Russia probably by the end of June which help the country curb the new infections.
As at June 16 a total number of 697 399 people had been vaccinated against Covid-19 in Zimbabwe.
