10pct global drop in new virus cases

GENEVA, Sept 29, (AP): The World Health Organization reported that the global number of new coronavirus cases and deaths continued to fall in the past week, with an estimated 3.3 million new infections and about 55,000 deaths, marking a 10% drop in both.

In its regular assessment of the pandemic issued on Tuesday, the UN health agency said the biggest drops in new cases were seen in the Middle East, the Western Pacific and the Americas.

WHO first reported a substantial decrease in cases in mid-September at 4 million new cases, with declines seen in all areas of the world, the first time in more than two months that COVID-19 cases had fallen.

WHO said all regions reported more than a 15% decline in deaths, except for Europe, where the number of deaths was similar to the previous week and Africa, where there was about a 5% rise.

In Asia, the number of deaths dropped by nearly a quarter. WHO warned there would likely be more spikes of COVID-19 as the Northern Hemisphere enters winter. The disease spreads more easily during winter as people spend more time indoors. Social distancing restrictions also are being relaxed in many countries that have a relatively high level of vaccination.

Meanwhile, for months, Acholo Jani was told to get a COVID-19 vaccination because it might save his life. He hesitated, fearful of potential side effects. But the moment he was told it would save his job, Jani got in line.

The 43-year-old mechanic’s employer is among many in Zimbabwe mandating shots for their staff, including the government, which is requiring the vaccine for its 500,000 employees. That sets the southern African nation apart from nearly every other on the continent, where the most immediate challenge is still simply acquiring enough doses.

Zimbabwe, by contrast, says it has ample supply for now, mostly purchased from China, but that hesitancy is holding back its campaign - a problem that has also troubled other African countries, partly driven by a general distrust of authorities. But Zimbabwe’s strategy is raising worrying rights questions.

Critics say that, unlike in richer countries that have made use of mandates, Zimbabwe’s rollout isn’t up to the task. Vaccination centers sometimes run out of supply, and poor urban townships and rural areas have often been starved of doses in recent months.

What’s more, they say, it’s cruel to

put at risk the livelihoods of people who are some of the world’s most vulnerable and already suffering during the pandemic.

“The Zimbabwe government should first focus on making sure that vaccines are equally available to all people without any obstacles before considering making them mandatory,” said Dewa Mavhinga, southern Africa director for Human Rights Watch.

Hesitancy

Mavhinga called for addressing vaccine hesitancy “in a way that builds public trust and confidence in the vaccines without the use of force.”

But the government, known for being authoritarian, appears ready to double down. It already requires vaccines at places of worship and has suggested extending the mandates to public buses — a critical mode of transportation for the country’s poor. Access to informal markets, on which millions rely to buy or sell goods, might also be restricted.

Those measures would effectively make the vaccine a requirement for the vast majority of Zimbabwean adults, even the two-thirds of the working population with informal jobs unlikely to be touched by employer mandates.

At Jani’s workplace, a vaccination card, a pocket-sized booklet with the government’s emblem on the front, is now “your gate pass,” he said.

“There is nowhere to hide,” he said while waiting for his vaccine on a dusty road outside a clinic in the Mufakose township of the capital, Harare.

Jani eventually got his first shot - after joining the line at 5 a.m. and waiting for seven hours - but others are not so lucky.

Some have waited hours on end only to be told the vaccination center was closing early because of limited supplies or a lack of staff. People eligible for second shots have also complained of being turned away from centers giving preference to those seeking first doses. A new batch of vaccines arrived recently, and lines appear to be shortening.

Around 15% of Zimbabwe’s 15 million people are fully vaccinated - well above the overall African rate of 4% but far from the government’s goal of 60%. The country has so far received 12 million doses, mainly of the Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines, which require two shots. Just over 5 million have been administered, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.