President Emmerson Mnangagwa and members of the Cabinet are set to follow Vice President CDG Chiwenga’s lead in getting vaccinated against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vice President Chiwenga took the lead when he volunteered to be the first in the country to be vaccinated against the novel virus with the controversial Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.
iHarare learned from The Chronicle that President Mnangagwa and his Cabinet will get the Sinopharm vaccine jab when the second batch of the vaccines arrive in the country in two weeks time.
The president dispelled widespread rumors doing rounds on social media that the Sinopharm vaccine was not safe and that the country’s leadership was not going to get vaccinated.
He said pressing government business prevented him from officiating the historic vaccination programme held at Wilkins on the 18th of February this month.
However, Mr. Mnangagwa said:
“My Cabinet and myself in two weeks when the next consignment comes, we will be vaccinated.”
He was speaking at the commissioning of the Epping Forest Water Supply Augmentation Project for Bulawayo and the groundbreaking ceremony of the Gwayi-Shangani-Bulawayo pipeline project in Nyamandlovu, Umguza District, yesterday where he gave assurance to the nation that the Chinese vaccine was safe.
The Chinese government this week said it was donating a further 200 000 vaccines of Covid-19 to Zimbabwe bringing the total to 400 000.
On top of the 400 000 doses, the President said his government had purchased additional vaccines from the Chinese government that will be administered free of charge.
The Ministry of Health supported by (Finance Minister Professor Mthuli) Ncube also bought two sets yesterday, 600 000 doses which will come during the first two weeks of March and another 1,2 million doses, said President Mnangagwa.
