Zimbabwe begins new round of Covid-19 vaccination

At public and private hospitals here in Zimbabwe, a new round of Covid 19 vaccination has begun, due to the discovery of new Covid 19 variant, omicron in neighboring South Africa last week.

This comes a day after the Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on announced plans for a new and enhanced measures to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic following the discovery of a new variant.

Ashley Mutemwa who has just received his vaccination said: "I have been vaccinated. I feel safe and more protected from the pandemic. I think that's all.. I feel secure."

With 134,625 Covid 19 cases, over 3.7 million people have received the first dose of the vaccine, while 2.7 million are fully vaccinated.

Public health practitioner, Itai Rusike, "....... We are aware that we have got a lot of Zimbabweans that are based in South Africa and Botswana, and the majority of them were going to come back home for the festive season and it then creates that challenge, the risk of transmission, given the fact that our land borders are very porous.

The discovery of the new variant has caused many nations to suspend flights with 6 Southern African nations a move which has been criticized by the World Health Organisation.

As a results of the ban on flights from South Africa, there have been reports of stranded airline passengers at South Africa airport since last week Friday.