Special Advisor for Covid-19 Dr. Roma Chilengi says government is considering mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in order to increase the number of people getting the vaccine and meet the 30% of eligible population vaccination target for the year December 2021.
A Zambian Business Times – ZBT analysis and extrapolation revealed that the current daily vaccination average across Zambia which is about 2,300 new vaccinations a day falls way short and will mean that the country will definitely not meet the year end target. The daily vaccinations should transformationally increase to about 30,000 a day which translates to 3,000 per day per Province.
And Dr. Chilengi said government is holding discussions with the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General in order to see if it is possible to restrict access to certain premises and facilities for people who are unvaccinated in order to encourage more people to get vaccinated.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with ZBT, Dr. Chilengi said government is still in consultations on the matter and once there is consensus, it is hopeful that there will be enforcement of what will be decided.
He said it is currently not mandatory for citizens to get vaccinated but once there is a limit on access to certain things or facilities for unvaccinated people, more people would be encouraged to get vaccinated.
“The question is whether there should be enforcement of restrictions on access to certain premises and facilities, that is what is been considered but we are consulting with the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General”, he said.
He noted that by 7 October 2021 when President Hakainde Hichilema re-launched the vaccination programme, only 3% of the eligible population was vaccinated but now it had more than doubled to 7.2% of the population who has been vaccinated after five weeks.
He added that the 30% target is achievable if the momentum is sustained and the strategy is followed as designed noting that the vaccination programme is going well and vaccines have been made available for the citizens, but there is need for more people to get vaccinated especially before the fourth wave comes.
“In the next one to three weeks, we should gain momentum and we should be able to review those numbers before November ends. I am hopeful that we can reach the 30%”, he said.
Chilengi mentioned that there is now more communication around COVID-19 vaccinations and government launched the vaccination programme in the ten provinces and is now launching in the districts.
He said government is now working with various civil service institutions to make sure that employees and families are encouraged to get vaccinated and provided access to the vaccine, noting that churches have also come on board.
Dr. Chilengi added that church leaders have been engaged and are taking on the mantle as vaccinations are going on in churches and government is hoping to reach out to traditional leaders in order to reach out to more people through traditional leadership strategies.
Zambia needs to at least achieve the 30% vaccination target by December 2021 which has been agreed with its global partners such as the World Health Organization – WHO and the Africa CDC. Reaching the 70% target is the ideal which enables the attainment of Herd Immunity – considered vital to avoid future social and economic restrictions or lock down which are painful for the economy.
