Vaccination to Cost US$6,7m

17 FEB, 2021 - 00:02  

Farirai Machivenyika

Senior Reporter

The national vaccination programme against Covid-19 will cost US$6,7 million, with Government targeting to vaccinate 10 million people, representing about 60 percent of the population.

The Covid-19 vaccine roll-out would be done by between one and two teams made up of five people per district depending on its size.

This was said by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who is also the Health and Child Care Minister, in the National Assembly yesterday.

VP Chiwenga briefed parliamentarians on various issues concerning the vaccination campaign including distribution and storage mechanisms, budgets, training of personnel and safety of the vaccines.

He said the vaccination programme would be done within three phases with the first one expected to commence tomorrow.

The first phase will comprise of two stages; the first one targeting frontline workers while the second stage will target the elderly and those with underlying conditions.

The total budget for the vaccination programme is US$6 778 777 million. Under the plan, Harare would be allocated 11 teams for the first phase, Bulawayo four teams and Chitungwiza two teams.

“The assumption is vaccination will be conducted over 10 days in the first round and five days in the second round.

“Supervisors drawn from head office, provinces and all districts will monitor planning, implementation and outcomes,” he said.

VP Chiwenga said the Health ministry had already begun the training of trainers in all provinces and districts and they would in turn train all personnel at various service centres.

“Areas of training will include vaccine storage, communications, surveillance, vaccination monitoring and evaluation and waste management,” he said.

The VP said the vaccines would be distributed across the country following existing structures for other vaccines, which is from head office to the 10 provinces then to the 63 districts and the more than 1 800 service centres.

VP Chiwenga said a national virtual launch of the vaccination campaign would be done while promotional material using all forms of media had been designed.

Following the arrival of the Sinopham vaccine donated by China on Monday, other consignments are expected to arrive in the country at two to three weeks’ intervals.

All the vaccines to be procured will undergo rigorous tests to ascertain their efficacy.