More than 150 young people have been vaccinated at a car wash in Bloemfontein. They received the single dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
The Free State Health MEC Montseng Tsiu is visiting entertainment areas to urge the those between 18-34 to get their jabs. The department believes that that the 3rd phase of vaccine roll-out will assist the province to rea h herd immunity. #sabcnews #SABCFS pic.twitter.com/eVjM3FuvqX
— Masiteng Makgala (@masitengmakgala) August 21, 2021
The Department of Health in the Free State took to entertainment spots to encourage the 18 to 34-year-olds to vaccinate.
Reporter Makgala Masiteng has the latest from one of the vaccine sites:
The department says the idea is to vaccinate young people where they like to gather on weekends. This is what some of them had to say.
“This assisted me because I was at work and I think it will help many people who are unable to go to vaccination sites.”
“I feel so good because it is for my own benefit. We had lies that the vaccine is going to kill us. But today is my first experience and I feel so good.”
Western Cape urges young people to vaccinate
The Western Cape Department of Health has urged members of the public including young people above the age of 18 to vaccinate in numbers to achieve immunity against the COVID-19 virus.
This is after anti-vaccine protesters in Cape Town said they felt pressured to take the vaccine against COVID-19 through messaging via the mainstream media even though government says it is voluntary.
A group under the banner “no to mandatory vaccination” held a rally outside Groote Schuur Hospital. The group says they stand in solidarity with Cape Town heart surgeon Dr Susan Vosloo’s anti-vaccination message that surfaced on the internet last week.
Western Cape Department of Health spokesperson, Marika Champion, says vaccinations remain voluntary.
“Vaccines are safe and highly effective in preventing severe COVID-19 illness. Doctors are already noting the major, positive impact that vaccines are having. We encourage residents to get their information from trusted, reliable sources – if they are unsure, please speak to their local clinic or hospital to get more information about the vaccine.”
