Even though Zimbawe is going to be obtaining it’s COVID-19 vaccine from through the African Union in the coming months there is no set plan on how the vaccine roll out will work. This has led to the government being for yet another failure. Experts warn that vaccines have to be rolled out in carefully calculated ways in order to minimise fatalities. Ultimately everyone has to be vaccinated otherwise new variants of the virus will continue to crop up among those not vaccinated.

Yesterday government representatives privy to the matter admitted before the Parliamentary Health Committee that there was no final plan yet. However, there is a rough strategy that the government is going to adopt when it does have the vaccine. It seems those in power are keen to get the jab and save themselves first. The committee was told that ministers and MPs would be among those who will receive the vaccine first. This is a transparent effort by those in power to save themselves first while the rest of the population has to wait.

The Parliamentary Health Committee has been told that, when a vaccine becomes available, the following groups will be prioritised: Frontline health workers,MPs, security forces and ministers. That’s insane! It should be: frontline staff, elderly, those with co-morbidities.
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In other countries the vaccine will be given to the elderly first. Frontline workers like doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and others in similar jobs are being prioritised. Those with underlying conditions that make them vulnerable to COVID-19 are also among those who are receiving the vaccine first in developed countries that already have the vaccine. A quick perusal of the statistics shows why this is the case. The bulk of people dying from the virus are from these groups of people.

Zimbawean leaders have been accused of being selfish in the past. When it comes to the coronavirus the government has been less than helpful. The finance Minister lied outright saying the country’s health sector was prepared when it clearly is not. He also lied that support would be offered to struggling families put out of work as a result of the lockdown, that never happened. The country has about 84 ventilators against soaring cases.

About the only thing that receives bipartisan support in Zimbabwe’s parliament is the purchase of MP vehicles. Our MPs love the lavish live even when their communities are struggling. A lot of them only visit their constituencies during election periods only to disappear during the remainder of their terms. Saving themselves while the rest of the population suffers is on par with their nature.