Villagers In Victoria Falls Remain Fearful of Vaccination

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | APR 30, 2021

While some people in urban areas have begun warming up to vaccination, in rural Vic Falls, villagers remain sceptical.

VICTORIA FALLS (The Citizen Bulletin) — The Ministry of Health and Child in the department of Epidemiology has begun administering COVID-19 vaccinations in Victoria Fall's rural areas, amid scepticism among villagers on whether to get their doses or not.

The exercise which started towards the end of last week has, however, been received with so much confusion and questions among the Ndlovu villagers under Chief Mvuthu.

Their fears are driven by age and health concerns as the area does not have adequately resourced medical equipment.

One of the concerned villagers is Makhosonke Ncube (59) who says taking a jab with his diabetes condition may worsen his life's battle.

He says he would rather stick to traditional herbs like Umsuzwane or green tea instead.

“It's a tough decision for one to make, and it's so bad that even at home my wife and l have gone through some misunderstanding,” Ncube says.

“The nurses who came for the exercise asked me to bring my health records, and in conclusion, they marked me as safe to receive the vaccination but l am afraid.”
Makhosonke Ncube, a diabetic patient

Another villager who is sceptical about getting her jab is Ellen Mwila from Matetsi village who says information regarding vaccination has not been disseminated clearly to villagers and has resulted in many of them waiting and monitoring how others react.

“I will not vaccinate anytime soon,” the 63-year-old villager says.

“I am concerned about my age because we heard that once one gets COVID-19 vaccination at an advanced age like mine they often fall sick, and at times die, information regarding the safety of these vaccine's safety and the guarantee was not given to us, so my child who lives in Zambia told me to wait until it is verified.”

The fears regarding the Sinopharm vaccines are shared by various other villagers in Ndlovu and Matetsi, although some say they have no issues with it.

However, for Matabeleland North Provincial Medical Director Munekayi Padingani, scepticism should be countered as the vaccines, he says, are safe.

“This is a national rollout, and as Matabeleland North, we would like to urge our people in those rural areas to take up these vaccinations without any hesitancy in order for us to be able to manage the situation,” he says.

“This includes everyone who is between 18 to 65 years without any chronic illness and expecting or breastfeeding mothers so all those who fit in the category be it in Nkayi, Lupane or Tsholotsho should make sure that they visit our health institutions for vaccination.”

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The province had the lowest COVID-19 related deaths, standing at 17 while active positive cases are currently eleven.

Victoria Falls City was used as a pioneer town for vaccination of all residents above 18 years old up to 65  and according to the district's medical officer Fungai Musinami, an estimated  19 200 residents have received their first dose.

The target was to vaccinate an average of 25 000 residents.

As of April 29, Zimbabwe has recorded 38 235 COVID-19 cases, 35 594 recoveries and 1 567 Deaths.

National case-fatality rates stand at 4.1 %.

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