Belatedly, Zimbabwe to introduce electronic Covid-19 vaccination register

HARARE – The government on Tuesday said it would introduce an electronic Covid-19 vaccination register to follow up on  citizens who have not taken the  required three jabs.

Acting Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services minister Jenfan Muswere told a weekly post Cabinet briefing that government hopes to keep the Covid-19 pandemic under control during the festive season.

“In light of the upcoming festive season, Cabinet resolved on the following strategies in order to ensure that the pandemic is kept under check: strengthening enforcement and adherence to WHO Covid-19 protocols; strengthening genomic sequencing to quickly identify any imported new variants; and introducing an electronic vaccination register to enable easy identification and follow up of those yet to receive second and third doses, ” he said.

Community Working Group on Health director Itai Rusike commended the government for the latest innovation.

“The electronic register will also address issues of vaccination certificates because there are certain characters who have been buying those certificates so it will eliminate challenges of some people claiming to be vaccinated yet they just bought.

“It will assist in terms of capturing the correct data in terms of the numbers of people who have been vaccinated. I hope the government is going to make efforts to decentralise the system,” he said.

According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, as of November 27, 2022, a total of 6,569,603 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered, while 4,937,735 people had received their second dose, and 1,239,453 their third dose.

Currently, the vaccinated people are given Covid-19 vaccination certificates or cards that contain information such as personal details, health facility, vaccination dates and the type of vaccine.

The wearing of masks in public is no longer mandatory for people who have received three doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

But, the wearing of masks is still required indoors, in public transports and at gatherings such as concerts. – New Ziana