Gauteng Premier David Makhura says medical schools and universities have agreed to release their final year medical students to manage COVID-19 hospital beds and administer vaccines.
This will complement the current health care personnel who have been under tremendous pressure due to the increasing hospitalisations due to the rising COVID-19 infections in Gauteng.
Military medics have already been deployed to complement the current staffing challenges of COVID-19 beds.
Makhura was speaking in Riverside north of Johannesburg where he had visited to encourage the elderly to vaccinate.
“We will get a lot of medical students who are joining these teams, both the vaccination teams on the ground but also clinical interventions in the hospitals to manage the COVID-19 beds,” says Makhura.
“We got the NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) sector in the health services that are bringing their services that include the ambulance services. We work with the Gift of the Givers.”
During his visit, he also met 103-year-old Marriam Moatshe who will be vaccinated today.
Vaccination drive in Gauteng:
Makhura and Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi are going from house to house at Riverside interacting with residents most of whom are elderly to find out if they have vaccinated.
