Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, says government leaders should take the COVID-19 vaccine in public to demystify myths surrounding the vaccine and to show citizens that it is safe.
Mabuyane made the call as the province gears itself up to vaccinate 3.7 million people to achieve the mountainous task of defeating COVID-19. The provincial government says it is ready to innoculate its citizens with the the Astra Zeneza-Oxford University vaccine that it expects to be distributed by the national government.
The provincial authorities say 500 health workers will be tasked with giving the shots to 75% of the provincial population, which excludes children under the age of 18. The province has the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the country at 9 510. Mabuyane has urged people not to listen to negative theories about the vaccine.
“We want to dispel the myth and conspiracy about the vaccine. The pandemic we are dealing with is nothing to joke about. People must stop paddling uninformed information about the vaccine we have health authorities in this country that will ensure we receive a safe vaccine that has gone through rigorous scientific analysis.”
Eastern Cape ready to roll out COVID-19 vaccine when it arrives:
Traditional leaders in the affirmative
Traditional leaders are also fully behind the vaccination process and have vowed to spread the word with awareness campaigns in communities.
Eastern Cape Contralesa chairperson, chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, says: “Once the vaccination is certified and we are satisfied that the vaccine is indeed the right one, we will have to lead by example ourselves and get vaccinated publicly, so that the public can realise it’s the vaccination that they need to follow. And more and above we will have to tell our people and council them to make them understand because we have had vaccines before, it’s not the first time, and we sat with our people and talked to them and many lives were saved, and we will do the same thing now.”
A significant proportion of the province’s population lives more than 5km from a healthcare facility, but most communities have a school nearby. Acting Health of the Department of Health, Dr Sibongile Zungu, says they’re addressing this matter.
“We are aware that for many people living in the rural areas, access to getting the vaccine may be a problem, hence we are identifying schools that we can use as vaccine sites. We don’t want anyone to be left behind and we will make sure we use nearby facilities such as schools so that everyone gets vaccinated.”
The first phase of the rollout is aimed at healthcare workers; phase two will target essential workers, people over the age of 60, people with underlying health conditions, which increase their risk of severe COVID-19, and people in congregate settings such as prisons. The third and final stage includes all remaining adults.
