Vaccine rollout praised but the war is far from over

SA took a giant step on Wednesday in joining other global nations that have rolled out the coronavirus vaccines. In the full glare of rolling cameras President Cyril Ramaphosa and health minister Dr Zwelini Mkhize took their jabs in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Having two national leaders among the first people to be vaccinated was just what the doctor ordered as it will go a long way in mitigating vaccine hesitancy and fear caused by misinformation and lack of information.

It was impressive that the Johnson & Johnson vaccines were distributed right across all the provinces within barely 24 hours of their arrival in the country. The moment demonstrates that as a nation we are capable of doing great work diligently, just as we did when we delivered the much-talked about 2010 World Cup.

For medical staff in our province, where the health system has been lurching from one crisis to another, there was a huge sigh of relief when the doses arrived at the Nelson Mandela Academic and Livingstone hospitals in Mthatha and Port Elizabeth.

Among the frontline workers who got their jab in Mthatha were NMA’S acting clinical director, Dr Mzulungile Nodikida, and Professor Chucks Ekpebegh. They had nothing but praise for the rollout and understandably so, having witnessed their colleagues die in the line of duty.

But even while we celebrate our milestone of receiving the vaccines, it must never be misconstrued for conquering the virus.

It must be clear that the virus is still with us and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. In the 24 hours ending on Wednesday night, 2,320 new cases were reported across the country, with 165 people succumbing to the deadly virus.

We implore the government to intensify its outreach programmes emphasising that each person still needs to wear a mask, sanitise their hands and maintain social distance until we achieve herd immunity.

The message must be made, loudly and clearly, that the danger of a third wave is alive and well.

Life has been difficult for everyone in the past 12 months. Many people lost their lives and livelihoods. The rollout of the vaccine shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel — but we are not at the end of that tunnel.

The ball is in our hands. We must be vigilant if we are going to win more battles against the virus. Being reckless means losing even more lives and livelihoods.

It must be clear that the virus is still with us and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future