The government has been implored to roll out awareness campaigns on the Sinopharm vaccine to educate and inform citizens.
Hurungwe legislator Dought Ndiweni made the plea while addressing Parliament, Tuesday, citing that citizens do not have enough information on the vaccine.
Zimbabwe is one of the first African countries to vaccinate its citizens against Covid-19 following a donation of 200 000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China.
As of March 2, 2021, 21 456 people in Zimbabwe had received their first doses of the vaccine.
The vaccination campaign is being rolled out in three phases, with the first phase targeting frontline workers which health workers, Customs and Immigration employees, journalists and members of the security sector.
The second phase of vaccination will cover priority groups such as those with chronic illnesses and comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure including those who are 65 and above while the third phase will cater for the rest of the population.
“Firstly, I would like to applaud the Government for availing vaccines to the populace of Zimbabwe on a good priority scale, starting with health care workers. While at it, my worry is there is very little publicity on the vaccines, the good effect on the use, effectiveness and so on. There is very little, if anything that is coming out on national radio, national television about the vaccination programme,” Ndiweni said.
“Good as it may be, the Government went all out to publicise the bad effects of COVID-19 and sensitise the population about the disease itself but as we stand at the moment, our detractors are busy talking about the ill effects of the vaccine and they seem to be getting more ground in talking ill about the vaccine.”
Ndiweni urged the government disseminate information the vaccines as they are aimed at protecting the masses.
“Citizens must know so that by the time we get more vaccines, the population would be in a position where they are educated and know that the vaccines are effective. May the government use televisions and radios to effectively make people aware of the benefits of the vaccine,” he said.
