Zimbabwe’s Covid-19 vaccination rate among first dose takers has slowed down despite the country being among seven African countries which have vaccinated over 10 percent of their populations.
The vaccination rate in Africa compared to other regions is low as the continent has according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) only been able to fully vaccinate just 50 million people or 3.6 percent of its people.
In Zimbabwe, data from the Ministry of Health and Child Care last week shows the vaccination rate is slowing down.
In the seven days to September 16, 2021, a total of 103 290 first doses were administered (a daily average of 14 756), down from 140 409 first doses (20 058 daily average) last week.
According to the daily reporting by the health ministry, as of September 20, 2021, 2 082 043 people have received both their jabs meaning they are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
This translates to about 13 percent of the total population, using an estimated figure of 16 million people in Zimbabwe, which is about 25 percent of the adult population.
The current daily recording also shows that to date, 2 962 145 people have received their first dose.
| First Dose Takers | Second Dose Takers |
| 9 September – 23 121 | 9 September – 25 823 |
| 10 September – 19 372 | 10 September – 35 056 |
| 11September – 12 157 | 11 September – 17 775 |
| 12 September – 8 395 | 12 September – 14 130 |
| 13 September – 11 807 | 13 September – 31 644 |
| 14 September – 16 938 | 14 September – 31 467 |
| 15September – 18 244 | 15 September – 36 811 |
| 16 September – 16 377 | 16 September – 38 929 |
| 17 September – 22 336 | 17 September – 30 844 |
| 18 September – 10 200 | 18 September – 17 999 |
| 19 September – 7 975 | 19 September – 14 565 |
| 20 September – 13 120 | 20 September – 16 648 |
Medical experts have attributed this vaccination slowing down to people who assumed the threat of Covid-19 was waning especially after the national lockdown restrictions were eased.
“The majority of people who were objectors panicked during the third wave of Covid-19 and were vaccinated. Now that the wave is gone those who were sceptical no longer have a push,” said a doctor who requested anonymity who added that “the anti-vaccination drive is still on and thus most people remain afraid.”
The other challenge that hampers vaccination, as cited by medical doctors, is people react to vaccination out of fear rather than from a knowledge point of view.
“Then you have religious leaders keep telling their congregations that Covid-19 vaccination is anti-Christ and that makes people hesitant to vaccinate,” doctors have said.
“Another inhibiting factor is vaccination access is limited in the rural area as there are health-related challenges that affect people from going to vaccinate.”
Meanwhile, WHO says around two percent of the nearly 6 billion doses given globally have been administered in Africa.
The European Union and the United Kingdom have vaccinated over 60 percent of their people and high-income countries have administered 48 times more doses per person than low-income nations.
