Zimbabwe records 53 new coronavirus cases, record 21 300 vaccinated

Zimbabwe today recoded 53 new coronavirus cases, 22 of them in Bulawayo and 14 in Matebeleland South, while there were only 15 recoveries resulting in the number of active cases increasing to 911.

A record 21 300 people were vaccinated for the first time raising the number of people that have received the first dose to 252 932.

Another 2 453 got their second dose, bringing the number of people that have been fully vaccinated to 32 949.

There were two deaths today. So far 1 550 people have succumbed to the pandemic, 37 422 have been infected and 34 961 have recovered.

Active cases in Harare continue to drop and are now 396 while those in Matebeleland South went up to 295 and those in Bulawayo to 129.

The Zimbabwe fact-checking organisation, Zimfact, has also issued an explanation on the effectiveness of Sinovac, one of the Chinese vaccines being used in Zimbabwe.

It says:
Sinovac vaccine has 50.7% in Brazil tests. But what does it really mean?

The Sinovac vaccine showed an efficacy rate of 50.7% in a test study in Brazil, according to media reports.

The report has raised interest in Zimbabwe, where Sinovac is one of the vaccines in use.

What do all these numbers really mean? Does it mean that Sinovac does not give you enough protection as some social media posts claimed?

No.

We asked the experts. Here, we break it down in simple terms.

Of those in the study, conducted in Brazil’s own conditions where there are unique variants, it was found that there is a 50.7% of being infected.

However, the whole point of vaccines is to make sure that, if you get the virus, there is less chance of getting sick or dying. This is where the data is important.

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