By A Correspondent-Health experts have said that it is not necessary for health workers administering the Covid-19 vaccine to wear gloves during the procedure as there is no proof that not using gloves exposes clients to any kind of infection.
This comes after debate on whether or not health care workers should wear gloves during Covid-19 vaccination with some people arguing that those who vaccinate people without wearing gloves were putting people at risk of infection.
Pictures have been circulating of health care workers administering the vaccine while wearing gloves and others not resulting in confusion as regards the correct way of doing it.
Health experts said gloves are not recommended for most vaccination administration and are not required for the Covid-19 vaccine unless the person administering the vaccine is likely to come into contact with potentially infectious body fluids or has open lesions on their hands.
They said that if used improperly, gloves can increase the likelihood of spreading germs.
Vaccine providers should however have other personal protective equipment (PPE) like face masks so that they do not increase risk of Covid-19 transmission.
As of March 27, 2021, Zimbabwe has now recorded 36 818 cases 34 575 recoveries and 1 519 deaths.
On Saturday, 4 373 people received their 1st dose bringing the cumulative figure for 1st dose to 65 466 while 1 396 received their 2nd dose bringing cumulative figure for 2nd dose to 7 965.
The Bulawayo Director of Health Services Dr Edwin Sibanda said it was not necessary for nurses or health care workers to wear gloves while administering the vaccine.
“I do not know if the system can allocate those kinds of gloves because one pair can only be used on one person.
“In Bulawayo we were allocated about 13 200 doses and that means we need an equal number of the pairs of gloves for our staff members,” said Dr Sibanda.
He said since the country needs to vaccinate at least 10 million people it means health care staff need 20 million pairs of gloves for the two doses.
Dr Sibanda who urged members of the public to be vaccinated, said people should not read a lot around the different brands and manufacturers of vaccines.
“What is clear is that they are all safe and all are effective although the efficacy is different as they were manufactured during the different phases of the Covid-19 epidemic. However, they prevent severe disease meaning those who are vaccinated will get corona but a milder form and therefore the hospitals may not be needed for Covid-19 patients,” he said.
One of the nurses who is part of the vaccine drive team said there was no point in wearing gloves.
“Gloves have proven to be problematic in this Covid-19 although we were of the understanding that we should always put on gloves whenever handling patients. Now that we have seen that wrong use of them may cause more infection, we would rather sanitise our hands all the time and ensure that both us and the clients are safe from Covid-19,” she said.
Community Working Group on Health executive director Mr Itai Rusike said members of the public should not thrive on misinformation as that may deter others from taking lifesaving health decisions.
“There is nothing wrong when health care workers wear gloves during the vaccination process and there is also nothing wrong when nurses vaccinate without wearing the gloves. We have seen health care workers continuously sanitising their hands as a safety measure,” said Mr Rusike.
-Chronicle