9th Edition

21 March 2021

Staring the third wave in the eye

Since the lifting of the last lockdown, we have already seen a modest increase in the number of daily infections recorded. We need to stay vigilant as the country opens up. Covid-19 safe practices ought to be applied consistently at all levels of our lives as Zimbabwean citizens, be it at the work places, in public transit, at churches, at school, or at funerals. Wherever we interact with others outside of our household, it is critical that Covid-19 safe practices be instituted. Covid-19 can still run rampant as long as herd immunity hasn’t been achieved in our country. By estimates, at least 60% of the Zimbabwean population has to be vaccinated and immune, to attain herd immunity, a state in which the virus no longer has room to keep spreading in our population. Until we reach that place when it will be difficult for the virus to spread like wildfire, we ought to do all we can to keep ourselves, our families, & friends, our neighbors & workmates, and all fellow Zimbabweans safe. Other more well to do countries are already burning under the load of a third wave, and we must be warned. Countries like Germany & Italy are already seeing worrisome spikes in cases.

There are many ominous pointers to a possible third wave in Zimbabwe. With the Easter holidays coming, we get a chilling sense of déjà vu. Winter is also fast approaching, and that is the time when respiratory illnesses like the flu, Covid-19, etc hit us the most. A third wave would be catastrophic. It may be more vicious in transmissibility with all the possible mutations that can happen, and the chances of a more aggressive and deadlier variant coming up always exists. The good news is that a third wave is completely preventable, if we as a people exercise the discipline necessary to prevent it for at least another year, while we ensure that our entire population gets vaccinated.

Lets focus on the positive aspects. What has worked for us in the past?

The lockdowns , if not politicised, work well to interrupt transmission. We don’t mean to imply that we should have more lockdowns, because these have their own nasty economic and social consequences, which as a nation we did not manage well and we can ill afford. We should work at preventing the necessity of any further lockdowns.

General preventive measures worked well when they were followed. These include hand washing, use of sanitisers, social distancing, avoiding super spreader events like funerals and parties, limiting unnecessary travel, masking up, and testing and isolation of the infected. I must confess testing and contact tracing were a major challenge, but we still have opportunity to rise up and utilize that tool because the pandemic is still far from over. Free testing is a necessity. It’s a cheaper option than another lockdown.

How then can we avoid a third wave?

Government should double its efforts in vaccinating the population. This means spending time and money on educating health workers and the entire population on why the government chose sinopharm vaccine, how it has performed elsewhere, and giving clinical details of the scientific trial phases that have been done already. Dealing with mistrust and conspiracy theories should preoccupy government at this point. Empty reassurances and threats won’t help our situation. The people want scientific information. That’s not the job of politicians. Government should resource the public health and scientific communities to do that.

The citizens demand more transparency on vaccine procurement by the government. That will instill more confidence in the people.

As MDC Alliance we urge all Zimbabweans to follow all the generally laid down rules of infection prevention so that we avoid any further lockdowns. This brief note serves to encourage every single one of us to take matters into our own hands to prevent a third wave from coming. It is completely doable.

Dr Henry Madzorera
National Secretary for Health and Child Welfare
MDC Alliance