The Gauteng government is embarking on a drive to take the vaccine to the people and also provide transport for the public to reach Covid-19 vaccination sites.
As the epicentre of Covid-19 infections, the province is faced with immense pressure to vaccinate as many people as possible to reduce the spread of the virus.
One of Gauteng’s oldest citizens was over the moon to get vaccinated for Covid-19 in Johannesburg yesterday.
Mirriam Moatse, 103, was among the senior citizens who were vaccinated in Riverside View, near Diepsloot, Johannesburg.
Healthcare workers clapped hands and ululated in excitement after Moatse got her jab.
“It was not painful as I thought it would be. I am happy because it will protect me from this killing virus,” Moatse said in excitement.
Moatse has lost her sight and struggles to hear because of her age. Her main health issue is that she suffers from ulcers.
Gauteng premier David Makhura said the command council had observed some communities were not getting vaccinated as expected.
“We’ve picked up some hesitance in our community. We want to understand what the issues are. What we are picking up is that for some of the people the issue is the lack of information while others it is transportation problems.
“We also have mobile vaccination stations, which go to communities. Our health workers cannot sit in the vaccination sites and wait for people to come. We must take the vaccine to the people. We also want to take people to where the vaccine is,” Makhura said.
Yesterday, residents of Riverside View were transported to the nearby OR Tambo clinic to get registered for vaccination and get their jabs.
Gauteng has the highest infection rate in the country, which has been a concern for national government. On Tuesday, 15,501 people got infected in the country and 9,215 of this number was recorded in Gauteng. This represents about 59% of all infections recorded in the country.
Makhura said vaccination had to be speeded up as experts have warned that a fourth wave could hit the province before the end of the year.
This has forced the provincial government to bring on board all the medical schools in Gauteng who have agreed to offer their final year students to help in the vaccination programme.
Esther Radebe, 53, one of the residents who got the opportunity to be transported to the clinic, said she was happy.
“I’m happy that I will be now be able to register and ultimately get the vaccine. This is important to me because we’ve been told that the vaccine helps you to not get severely ill or die, even if you get the virus. This will also help me protect my three children from infection."
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