Charamba rubbishes mandatory inoculation report

PRESIDENTIAL spokesperson George Charamba has rubbished a report in today’s local newspaper alleging that Zimbabwe could consider mandatory inoculation against COVID-19 following resistance from some sections of the population.

Charamba posted on his @Jamwanda2 Twitter handle that if persuasion failed on voluntary vaccination, then government, which has maintained that the programme would be voluntary, according to the Public Health Act, would force people to be vaccinated.

“Generally, government takes the view of persuasion as a weapon of first instance. Only when that fails does it ratchet up pressure through coercion, especially where minors are involved. You can’t condemn an age that can’t decide to die or take hazards of dying,” Charamba tweeted on Tuesday.

Charamba rubbished the article saying the media house sort to ‘recontextualise his tween for their own wish-narrative.’

Zimbabwe rolled out the voluntary vaccination programme throughout the country this week, with health workers and other frontline workers given the first priority.

Vice-President and Health minister Constantino Chiwenga last Thursday became the first Zimbabwean to be inoculated with the Chinese-donated Sinopharm vaccine.

The southern African country last Monday received 200 000 doses of the vaccine and Charamba yesterday said the Asian giant had doubled its donation to 400 000 doses.

According to Finance minister Mthuli Ncube, Zimbabwe expects to receive another 600 000 doses of the same vaccine early next month purchased by government.

Government said it had planned to buy up to 1,8 million doses of the Chinese vaccine.

However, there has been a low turnout by health workers at most health centres throughout the country, with some saying they were unsure of the efficacy of the donated vaccine.