More than 1,23 m people living with HIV to miss Chinese Covid-19 vaccine

By Nyashadzashe Ndoro 

There are fears that more than over 1,23 million people living with HIV-Aids in Zimbabwe may not be able to receive the Chinese SinoPharm Covid-19 vaccine.

According to the widely circulated document on Information on SinoPharm Vaccine, people living with HIV and those with allergies to Covid-19 vaccine or other vaccines are not supposed to take the counteragent.

People with immune deficiency issues including those on Chemotherapy are also added to the list.

The Chinese information said, adults aged 18 to 60 years, including individuals with Chronic illness that are well controlled can take the vaccine.

It listed.the following categories as people who cannot take the vaccine due to their health problems.

“Children or young people under the age of 18 years.

“Women who are presently pregnant or breastfeeding, or planning or planning a pregnancy within the next 6 weeks.

“Anyone with allergies to Covid-19 vaccine or other vaccines in the past. Anyone who gets an allergy from the first dose should not take it again.

“People with conditions that suppress the immune system (E.G. HIV-Aids, on steroids medications or receiving Chemotherapy).

“People with unconditional Epilepsy or other neurologic conditions.

“People with controlled Chronic conditions (e.g. uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension, uncontrolled heart failure, late stage kidney disease, uncontrolled asthma),” read the statement.

It added that, “people diagnosed with symptomatic infection with Covid-19 should not take the vaccine and wait for after recovery.”

According to the second Zimbabwe Population-based HIV Impact Assessment survey (ZIMPHIA 2020), the rate of annual new HIV infections among adults in Zimbabwe is 0.38 percent (0.54 percent among women and 0.20 percent among men) or approximately 31,000 persons over a year.

“The prevalence of HIV among adults was 12.9 percent, which corresponds to approximately 1.23 million adults in Zimbabwe living with HIV in 2020. Generally, the survey found that HIV prevalence was higher among women than men (15.3 percent vs. 10.2 percent).”

Meanwhile, this approximately means that about 1,23 million people may not be able to take the Chinese vaccine. The country’s health care frontliners, ports of entry employees, school teachers are among the first groups of citizens set to receive the jabs.

On Monday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa extended the national lockdown by a further two weeks, ordering schools to remain closed and announcing new curfew hours from 8pm to 5:30 am while operating hours for businesses have been extended to 5pm.

Zimbabwe has 35,272 confirmed Covid-19 cases, an encouraging 30,917 recoveries and 1420 deaths. Nehanda Radio