Efforts to vaccinate mine workers in Limpopo accelerated

The efforts to vaccinate mine workers across different mines in Limpopo have been accelerated. Scores of mine employees at Mogalakwena Platinum Mine in Mokopane have started receiving their vaccinations.

The workers were inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine. The Limpopo Health Department and mining company Anglo-American say this is a bid to reduce cluster infections and operate at full capacity. Anglo-American’s Head of Global Health Dr Elton Dorkin says they have lost more than 100 employees due to the pandemic.

“We have lost, just in South Africa alone, close to a hundred employees in our businesses here. We don’t want to see a repeat of that. That is something we are trying to prevent – especially with vaccination with something like Pfizer is 95% effective against death and hospitalisation of our company our colleagues,” says Dr Elton Dorkin, Anglo-American’s Head of Global Health.

The mineworkers received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

“I am feeling so good, the vaccine is very nine, it is nice to be vaccinated to be safe, I am feeling all right, I was afraid the syringe will hurt me but everything is well there is no pain there is nothing. It is going to save us a lot. We might be going back to the stadium very soon if we can do this all of us.  We can even go back to the stadium,” says one of the mineworkers.

VIDEO: Limpopo leads in COVID-19 vaccination efforts