COVID-19 VACCINE: WE DON’T MIND BEING LAST – MPS

MANZINI –  Great move!

This was the general feeling from some Members of Parliament (MPs) after government, through the Ministry of Health, announced that only healthcare workers would be vaccinated first instead of politicians once the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine arrived in two weeks time in the kingdom. 

This follows previous reports that the politicians, who include Cabinet and parliamentarians would be the first to be vaccinated against COVID-19 once the vaccine arrived. It was initially announced that the politicians, together with frontline workers; formed three per cent of the population that would get the vaccine during the first phase.

However, during a media briefing on the COVID-19 update which was hosted by Health Minister Lizzie Nkosi on Tuesday, she announced that government would be prioritising healthcare workers first once the vaccination exercise commenced, which would be the first phase.

Essential

The first phase of vaccination will be primarily catered for the three per cent of the population, which will be for the healthcare workers in the private and public sector. The remaining numbers, according to Nkosi, will be moved to Phase two group, which will cover 17 per cent of the population and Phase III will cater for 60 per cent of the population, which in this case are essential workers outside the health sector. While the country awaits its first COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in two weeks time, various MPs seemed content with the latest decision that government has taken. Some of the politicians have called for an inclusion of more people who also work in the frontline but outside the health sector.

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