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Cabinet on Tuesday resolved that unvaccinated civil servants should not report for duty as civil servants were given ample time to get vaccinated.

Government is pushing for the country to attain herd immunity and the civil servants as employees of the Government were supposed to be on the forefront.

What is encouraging is that about 90 percent of the civil servants heeded the Government’s call for them to be vaccinated.  Vaccination does not only protect civil servants but also members of the public they serve hence it is imperative for all civil servants to be vaccinated.

We want at this juncture to urge all the remaining civil servants to be vaccinated so that they join the rest of the civil servants that have been vaccinated. It is unfair for vaccinated civil servants as well as vaccinated members of the public to be exposed to the virus by those unvaccinated.

The Government move is therefore not meant to only protect the vaccinated civil servants but members of the public who are served by the civil servants. The percentage of the unvaccinated civil servants is very small and if they are willing, all should be vaccinated by the end of this month.

Government has said those with underlying conditions who have been advised by their doctors not to be vaccinated will be allowed to report for work. The figure of such civil servants, we want to believe, is very negligible and will therefore not affect others.

The response to mass Covid-19 vaccination has been overwhelming in both urban and rural areas which means the country is headed for herd immunity in the shortest possible time.

Long winding queues are now common at most vaccination centres and the vaccination teams are being overwhelmed by the numbers.  Government could come up with an arrangement whereby the remaining civil servants could be vaccinated at their work stations.

Churches have also been allowed to call vaccination teams to their premises which means some of the civil servants can be vaccinated at their churches. Government has said only vaccinated congregants can attend church services hence the need for every citizen to be vaccinated.

We want to once again call on the remaining civil servants to be vaccinated as soon as possible so that they return to work where their services are needed. Government on its part has done its best to avail vaccines hence Zimbabwe is among the four countries leading in vaccines procurement on the continent.