The MEC for Health in Mpumalanga, Sasekani Manzini visited Evander Hospital vaccination site on 6 April to monitor the progress on the vaccine rollout programme for frontline workers.
The vaccination centre covers Evander Hospital, Bethal Hospital, Medclinic, primary health care facilities and private practitioners in Govan Mbeki Local Municipality. MEC Manzini was accompanied by the Evander Hospital board and provincial organized labour team.
“I am happy that the vaccine site is doing well and the public private partnership is practical here, companies are forwarding their health workers to assist with the vaccination programme, I encourage other partners to come forward so that we fight the pandemic together,” said MEC Manzini.
The Covid-19 roll-out is divided into three platforms, which are work based vaccinations, outreach based vaccinations and vaccination centres. The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) in Mpumalanga is calling for the Mpumalanga provincial government to increase the Covid-19 vaccine doses which were allocated to the province because they are not enough.
In February, 2000 doses of vaccines were allocated to Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mbombela, while Witbank Hospital in eMalahleni received 1 640 doses. The province was allocated the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine doses by national government.
Reportedly the Mpumalanga provincial Nehawu Secretary, Welcome Mnisi, has said that Mpumalanga has lost over 19 000 healthcare workers to Covid-19 related complications. Maletsatsi Mnguni, a Middleburg health-care expressed her excitement for being vaccinated. “This is my chance to protect myself from Covid because we are living in uncertain times and anything can happen to you if you are not protected. I advise my colleagues and local people to accept the vaccine and get vaccinated,” Mnguni said.
The first phase of the roll-out will be frontline healthcare workers in the province. The second phase will target essential workers as well as persons in congregated settings, people who are 60 years and older, and people older than 18 years with comorbidities. Phase three will target other people 18 years and older. People with comorbidities are persons living with uncontrolled diabetes, chronic lung diseases, poorly controlled cardiovascular diseases, renal diseases, HIV, tuberculosis and obesity. Congregated settings include care homes, detention centres, shelters and prisons.
Listed essential workers are police officers, miners, persons in security, retail, food production, funeral, teachers, banking, essential municipal and home affairs, border control and port health services.
A front worker, who didn’t want his name to be disclosed, said, “I feel like our government or the president has failed us. We are told that the vaccine can only prevent Covid-19 but we are not told about the long term side effects. Why was it so hard for the President to at least have engaged with the Dept. of Health first, get certain number of people who are suffering from TB, diabetes, HIV etc. all the chronic diseases test them with the vaccine to see how it treats them before it can be given to people. Wait for the period of three months, monitor those people who agreed to get vaccinated and see the results? Before it was said that people suffering from chronic disease will not be vaccinated then suddenly, all people should be including those who are perfectly healthy.”
“Government should have first experimented the vaccines before given to people. According to my knowledge to implement a vaccine and testing before it gave been experimented on humans nor approved it takes close to six years, South Africa has rushed,” he said.
