‘Government is reckless’: Traditional healers divided over vaccines
As rollout kicks off this week across SA, some practitioners are sceptical and swear by their methods
“I cannot take a vaccine that will kill me.”
These are the words of Nkunzebomvu Gumede, a traditional healer from KZN.
Gumede said he would not take any vaccine as government rolled out the vaccine programme this week.
“I won’t take the vaccine because the first mistake the government made was to not involve us as traditional healers in the process of finding a cure for Covid-19,” Gumede said.
“Covid-19 is just like any flu. There is no traditional healer who does not know how to cure flu.
“Our ancestors were not vaccinated, but they [government] expect us to take any kind of vaccine. You will not see me taking it,” he said.
He said he had not had any flu-like symptoms since the outbreak of coronavirus.
“I know what to use and what to do to stay healthy. I steam, detox and cleanse three to five times a week so my system is in shape.
“I cannot take a vaccine that will kill me. Look at what has happened now. They brought an expired vaccine to SA,” he said referring to the Oxford/astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccine, which is said to be expiring in April.
“The government is reckless. It’s gambling with people’s lives.”
He vowed that none of his family members would take the vaccine, as scores of people would get sick and die.
“I will protect them as long as I am alive. Taking the vaccine will just bring problems to our people.
“You will get women who will struggle to conceive five years after taking the vaccine,” Gumede said.
Gogo Dumakude, a sangoma from King William’s Town, echoed Gumede’s sentiments regarding the vaccine.
“I’m not confident that it works because vaccines take a long time to be developed. Maybe it is working in other countries, but personally I do not believe it will be effective,” said Dumakude.
“I don’t believe in the term that ‘prevention is better than cure’. Why do I need to take a vaccine to prevent a sickness I do not have?
She said there were other ways to fight Covid-19, such as the use of traditional medicine.
“We have traditional medicine we believe cures illnesses including Covid-19. We have medicine that we use for respiratory illnesses, and it works.”
Contrary to other traditional healers’ beliefs, Mkhulu Manzolwandle, another healer who is based in Johannesburg, said he would take the vaccine.
“I’m not against it at all as long as it will bring stability in people’s lives. However, my fear is its side effects.
“I fear that if I take it, it will give me other illnesses or kill me, but if it will curb the spread of the virus, I will take it.”
Despite his scepticism about the vaccine, Mkhulu Shezi also said he would still take it.
“It will be important for all of us to take it, even though there are questions around its effectiveness and the stories we’ve heard around it.”
SA has had to temporarily halt its Astrazeneca vaccine rollout after research showed it was not particularly effective against mild to moderate disease caused by the dominant Covid-19 variant, 501Y.V2 or B.1.351.
In his address to the nation in January, President Cyril Ramaphosa said an inclusive partnership had been formed between government, medical schemes and the private sector to support the acquisition, funding and distribution of vaccines.
He added traditional leaders had a “vital role” to play in the rollout.
“We see a vital role for organised labour, traditional leaders and the religious community in the dissemination of accurate information on vaccines and in ensuring optimal participation in the vaccine programme,” he said.
But when asked by Sunday Times Daily last week what the government had done to involve traditional leaders, the presidency referred all queries to the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, which had not responded.
Health minister Zweli Mkhize on Tuesday said the government had identified 20 vaccination centres in SA’S nine provinces to inoculate 80,000 healthcare workers over the next two weeks as the country begins with its Covid-19 vaccine rollout strategy this week.
Mkhize was addressing a joint sitting of parliament to debate President Cyril Ramaphosa ’ s state of the nation address, which was delivered last Thursday.
He took the opportunity to provide a detailed plan of the vaccine rollout strategy. This as the Covid-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of 48,094 people.
Mkhize said 164 vaccinators would vaccinate about 48 clients a day – about six to seven clients an hour.
As many as 380,000 health workers have registered to get vaccinated for Covid-19 in the past two weeks.
Ramaphosa during his address announced that SA had successfully secured nine million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, with the delivery of the first batch of 80,000 on Tuesday. The vaccination began on Wednesday.
Mkhize said plans to procure more vaccines for everyone in the country had materialised.
“Critically, an additional 500,000 doses are expected to arrive over the next four weeks, supplemented by another 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine that is expected to be received at the end of March 2021.
“I can also say that we have actually secured enough doses to vaccinate all the people who will need to be vaccinated in SA,” said Mkhize.