Table 1.
recommendations for controlling the third wave and preparing for further waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe
| Recommendation | Action items |
|---|---|
| Accelerate the vaccination programme to achieve herd immunity | Accelerate procurement of vaccines |
| Adequately deal with vaccine hesitancy | |
| Build vaccine confidence | |
| Deal with logistical issues, and ensure wider availability and accessibility of the vaccines, prioritising the most vulnerable members of the population | |
| Strengthen risk communication and community engagement | Continue reinforcing that all groups are susceptible to COVID-19 |
| Continue dealing adequately with the rumours, myths and misconceptions regarding COVID-19 and the vaccination therefore | |
| Continuously develop, adapt and distribute COVID-19 information, education and communication material in all the local languages | |
| Continue to widely disseminate the information, education and communication material on all possible media platforms | |
| Continuously develop strategies to deal with pandemic fatigue and complacency | |
| Build public health sector capacity and resilience | Use period(s) of stability to address human resources and bed capacity challenges |
| Adequately address healthcare workers’ insurance and remuneration concerns to avoid further brain drain | |
| Build more isolation and quarantine facilities for further waves | |
| Build up on stocks of consumables such as oxygen, medicines, personal protective equipment and other sundries | |
| Enhance the public health sector’s capacity to test, treat and isolate confirmed cases, conduct efficient contact tracing and quarantine contacts | |
| Integrate COVID-19 prevention activities into mainstream public health activities | Reinforce the message that SARS-CoV-2 is likely to remain as one of the major respiratory pathogens in the future, therefore begin to integrate COVID-19 prevention messages into the main public health arena alongside other infections of public health importance |
| Enhance differentiated control strategies | During periods of low transmission, develop differentiated strategies that allow economic activities to go on whilst clusters of cases are contained |
| Work on building/resuscitating the economy and enhance social support for the vulnerable | The economy is the basis of a functional public health sector, and needs urgent resuscitation |
| Enhance social support systems that prioritise the vulnerable and protect them during periods of high transmission |