North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha says traditional healers in the province will soon be inoculated with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
Last month, a group representing traditional healers called for their members to be considered to receive the coronavirus vaccine alongside other healthcare workers, doctors and nurses.
Sambatha says traditional healers are regarded as frontline staffers because people consult with them.
He says, “They are included on the basis that they do have a sizable number of people who consult them. And if they were not protected it might be easier for them to transmit to the people that consult them.”
Uneasiness
Last month, traditional healers in Kimberley welcomed with uneasiness the announcement that they will receive the COVID-19 vaccine as part of the cohort of frontline workers.
The healers say although they welcome the vaccine, they have some issues with government and the Department of Health that need to be ironed out before they can take the vaccine.
They accuse the government of side-lining them when the virus hit South African shores and further maligning them when solutions were sought on how to treat symptoms of the virus. Now they are seeking answers.
Herbal remedy
A group of traditional healers claim to have found a herbal remedy that can cure COVID-19.
The group says its remedy is a mixture of traditional herbs and has already treated about a hundred people.
The traditional healers say they are working with the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University to prove and provide scientific evidence of the herbal remedy’s efficacy:
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Additional reporting by Neo Bodumela.
