MPUMALANGA- The Department of Health released a media statement to inform and urge members of the public to take extra precautionary measures to protect themselves and their loved ones against respiratory infections, which are expected to increase over the winter season. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, there is a surveillance system that monitors the circulation of respiratory viruses throughout the country and has notified the Department of Health that it is currently at the peak season of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), which can be confused by some people with COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 due to common symptoms.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases further stated that RSV mainly causes illness in young children but also contributes to respiratory illness in older individuals. In a separate statement, the department was quick to dismiss the fake message circulating on social media about a new deadly Covid-19 Omicron XBB variant. “The Department of Health has noted with concern an old fake news about Covid-19 Omicron XBB variant circulating on social media platforms, advising people to wear face masks because of an alleged deadly and not easy to detect variant,” the department stated.
“This is a misleading message which first resurfaced during the peak of the pandemic without a traceable source,” the department added. “We urge members of the public to be vigilant and ignore this malicious social media content whose intent is to cause unnecessary panic and confusion, especially as the country is entering the influenza season,” the statement advised. Sello Shai-Morule, the President of SELLO MORULE FOUNDATION, shared his thoughts on the flu vaccine to be given to the public. “The Flu vaccines that are implemented by the Department of Health are safe and effective like any other vaccines previously implemented by the Republic of South Africa,” he emphasized.
He further continued to explain more on the flu vaccine. “It is encouraging this day to see developing countries like South Africa starting to develop their own vaccines,” he explained. Dineo Thaba, a student at Tshwane University of Technology and a resident of Delmas, expressed her views on the fake Covid-19 message urging people to wear masks. “I don’t think Coronavirus is coming back. We are happy for the flu vaccine, which is a process that is being done annually to protect us from the dangers of flu,” she expressed.
