MEC hits out at fake news spreaders

AS THE Western Cape continues to battle the third wave of Covid-19 infections, its health-care workers are also being forced to deal with a barrage of misinformation and fake news.

During the premier’s regular digicon, Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said that never in her career as a health-care worker, including during the HIV/Aids crisis, had she come across a disease with as many self-appointed experts.

“I want to share the frustration with regards to how our health-care workers ended up being the ones being affected by all the vaccine hesitancy that has been around, not only in the Western Cape but throughout.

“If you really don’t understand that Covid-19 exists, come to our hospitals where you will see that 3 400 plus of the people occupying our beds are sick with Covid-19.

“If you don’t understand that we have over 500 000 cumulative cases in the province, if you don’t understand we have had about 17 000 deaths in the province, come to our mass fatality centre in Tygerberg and see those 32 bodies that are there,” Mbombo said.

Mitchells Plain Community Health Centre family physician Dr Roland Kroukamp, who was the special guest at the digicon, spent time debunking myths about the vaccines.

“It is important for people to know that vaccines do not give you Covid19, the vaccines merely train the body and your system how to fight off the virus should you get infected.

“There are also myths regarding fertility. More and more evidence is emerging about the safety of the vaccine during pregnancy.

“Vaccines are safe in pregnancy and it is also safe to be vaccinated if you are breastfeeding. The vaccine does not contain a tracer, or a tracker, or a microchip,” he said.

Premier Alan Winde said since registration for the age category 18 years and older opened on August 20, this group had dominated uptake.

“The province recorded a record number of 53 290 vaccines administered on the first day alone. Let’s keep the momentum going.”

Provincial health department head Dr Keith Cloete said although the province was at the peak of the third wave, with early signs of decline, there had been an increase in deaths in the past week across the Western Cape and the Metro. He said there had so far been 6 023 reported deaths in the current wave compared with 6 507 in the second wave.

“In all likelihood, because we have a longer, flatter wave, we will probably end up with more deaths in this wave than the second wave, although more spread out.”

Cloete said across the province there were 42 780 active cases, and therefore the risk of being in contact with an infected person at any gathering remained high.