Dozens of parents in Gauteng took their children to vaccination sites to get the Covid-19 jab on Wednesday.
From on Wednesday, SA opened up Covid-19 vaccinations to those between the ages of 12 and 17.
Speaking to Sowetan at the Medicare vaccination site at K90 retail park in Ekurhuleni, Pontsho Msibi who had brought her 12-year-old son, Mongezi, said she was happy with the decision that the government has taken to start vaccinating the younger citizens.
“I am personally vaccinated, so I have no problem with my son and any other child getting the jab,” Msibi said.
Msibi said their family had lost many members to the Covid-19 pandemic, which gave her a reason to “jump” without hesitation to ensure her son was vaccinated.
She said having her son vaccinated made sense and gave her a peace of mind as he was at school for most parts of the day, which is a very crowded place.
Speaking in the presence of his mother, Mongezi, a grade 5 pupil, said his mother educated him about Covid-19 before bringing him to the site.
“I was scared until I got here, but it's not as scary as I thought. I'm vaccinated now and I'm happy because I feel more safer to interact with many people,” said Mongezi.
Maria Segone of Boksburg West, said she was also comfortable with coming out to bring her daughter after school.
“I'm comfortable with my kids getting the vaccine but I'm not at peace with the side effects. I'm hoping they don't get complicated after this because they are still kids,” Segone said.
Site manager Vutlhari Ndlovu said the numbers of vaccinated children rose to over 40 after school while the numbers of adults were also doubling up since Monday.
“In the morning we had one who came before going to school. More parents came through. The younger ones only get one jab afterwards they go home or school; so far we have not received any complaints,” Ndlovu said.
Siyamthanda Mdingi, 15, of Diepkloof Zone 5, Soweto, who vaccinated at Diepkloof Hall in Diepkloof Zone 3, came with his mother Noluthando.
“After getting the vaccine I felt nothing. I just felt good,” said Siyamthanda.
Siyamthanda, who spoke to Sowetan in the presence of his mother, said he is happy that he got the jab.
“I took the vaccine because I want to protect myself from Covid-19 and I do not want to get sick. Most importantly, I play soccer with my friends at home, so I don’t want to get sick and be unable to play soccer. I want to continue playing soccer,” said Siyamthanda.
Noluthando, 43, said she is now at peace that her son has been vaccinated.
“I want him to be protected. These kids play soccer and hang around with other kids at school. I want him to be protected like me. I feel free and calm now that he is vaccinated,” said Noluthando.
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