Health MEC urges children to get their jab

The Department of Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu has urged parents to encourage their children from the ages of 12 to 17 years to get vaccinated. The MEC said this at the renaming of Edendale Hospital to Harry Gwala Regional hospital. So far, they have vaccinated about 724 children although they were expecting a lot more, she said.

“We appeal to parents to encourage their children to go and vaccinate as we believe that at this point, we don’t have any solution except vaccinating. We continue to encourage our fellow compatriots to rise above all the myths, lies and other misleading information about the safety of vaccination. We are trying very hard to address and deal with the myths that are out there, “she said.

MEC Simelane-Zulu said many schools in the past 12 months had a big population which was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. She added that as a result they had to close schools periodically.

“With our children taking a vaccine our society will be moving one step closer to returning to normalty. In order to avoid further disruptions to the academic year and examination preparations there will be no special vaccination sites set up in schools. But we have pop up sites in the whole province and we appeal to children to go there and vaccinate,“said the MEC.

More than 3.1 million people in the province have been vaccinated to-date, but the KZN DoH’s target is seven million, she added.

Simelane-Zulu said that even though it looks like the third wave of Covid-19 has subsided, this does not mean people should be complacent because the pandemic is still alive and claiming people’s lives. She concluded by appealing to people to adhere to Covid-19 regulations which include wearing masks, sanitising, and keeping a social distance.