BY NIZBERT MOYO THE Health and Child Care ministry has set up 22 COVID-19 vaccination centres in Bulawayo to inoculate 6 000 frontline workers and other vulnerable groups in the city. Bulawayo’s vaccination exercise was launched at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) on Monday. Zimbabwe last week took delivery of 200 000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by China. Bulawayo province received 13 200 doses, while Matabeleland North province got 8 610. Matabeleland South was allocated 11 000, with Midlands getting 11 800 under the first phase of the vaccination exercise. Bulawayo city health director Edwin Sibanda told Southern Eye that the city had set up 22 vaccination centres targeting frontline workers. “The vaccination rollout programme has been launched. Mpilo and United Bulawayo Hospital (UBH) will vaccinate their frontline workers together,” Sibanda said. Mpilo Hospital acting clinical director Xolani Ndlovu said they were expecting the vaccination programme to last the next 10 days. “Yes, the vaccination programme was rolled out today. As at today, we have vaccinated 23 members of staff. It is expected that the vaccinating team will continue for the next 10 days,’’ Ndlovu said. Health and Child Care deputy minister John Mangwiro last week told the National Assembly that the ministry was ready to manage all associated vaccination side effects. Mangwiro was responding to a question by opposition proportional representation (PR) legislator Memory Mbondiah, who had asked him to explain what measures his ministry had taken to ensure that the vaccine did not have side effects, as well as the ministry’s compensatory plans. “… from the studies that have been done so far by the people who produce the vaccine, there seems to be very minimal reaction. Like I said at the beginning, people might react,” Mangwiro responded. “We are ready to manage the side effects which can be just anaphylaxis reactions or localised reactions that we can manage. It is very possible that it will not be very severe, it is something that we can take control of.” Follow Nizbert on Twitter @N.M
