By Elizabeth Sitotombe 

FOLLOWING a hive of disinformation on social media platforms pertaining COVID-19 vaccines, the bulk of Zimbabweans had initially rejected the idea of inoculation, citing concerns on its safety and efficacy.

However, over the past few weeks, Zimbabwe has seen an increase in the uptake of the vaccinations, with the number of vaccinations now over 200 000.

It’s a far cry from the expected 10 million target required for the country to achieve herd immunity, but it is a substantial increse, given how we fared when the vaccination programme first began. 

The vaccination programme began in February with Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, who doubles as Health Minister, being the first person to be inoculated against COVID-19 in the country in a bid to assure the public on the safety of the vaccine. 

Twenty-four centres, including hospitals, satellite clinics and polyclinics, have been designated as vaccination centres in Harare. 

There are many factors that have contributed to vaccination hesitancy in the country and these include religious, social and cultural factors.

Religiously, some believe getting the vaccine is akin to getting ‘the mark of the beast’, a biblical impression believed to be ‘a sign of the end times’.

Twenty-four-year old Tatenda (not real name) said: “I got vaccinated over the Easter holidays. 

“I was a little skeptical at first because of what I read on social media and my pastor was against it.

“I, however, sat down to weigh the pros and cons and decided to go for it.”

Moving among people discussing COVID-19 vaccines, stories of how one can contract the virus from the vaccines have popped up. 

Some have even claimed the vaccines can alter one’s DNA and a lot of other baseless information that leaves many reluctant to receive the jab. 

The younger generation on the social scene believe they are fit and healthy enough to fight off the virus and may get their immune systems compromised by taking the vaccine. 

Others have decided to rely on traditional herbs to treat and prevent COVID-19.

However, much needs to be done in order for everyone to return to normalcy and, vaccination is one of the options we have in order to reduce the number of new infections as well as severity of the virus and even death. 

The COVID-19 vaccine is an additional layer of protection against COVID-19 — it gives one a fighting chance. 

The vaccine is meant to help one’s body respond in an effective and timely manner when exposed to the virus. 

The COVID-19 vaccine, like any other vaccine, may cause side effects, which usually occur within the first few days of getting vaccinated. 

The reported side-effects include fever, fatigue, diarrhoea, chills, muscle pain and pain on the injected site.

Experiencing these side-effects usually means the vaccine is working and that one’s immune system is responding as it should.

According to WHO director of the Department of Immunisation Vaccines and Biologicals: “After the first dose of the vaccine, we see a good immune response that kicks in within about two weeks of the first dose, and it’s really the second dose that then boosts that immune response and we see immunity geting even stronger after that second dose.”

Zimbabwe is currently using Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines from China as well as Covaxin from India.

We must all embrace vaccinations. 

The sooner we achieve herd immunity, the sooner we can return to normalcy. 

However, until such a time, we all need to continue to sanitise, maintain social/physical distancing and mask up.