KZN premier pleads with citizens to get vaccinated

This was Premier Sihle Zikalala’s urge to the people at a media briefing on Sunday, December 5 on the recent developments of Covid-19 in the province. This comes as the much-anticipated fourth wave descends on the country.

“While we are thankful to all those who have taken advantage of campaigns such as our very own Siyagoma Waya Waya and the Vooma Vaccination campaign, we would nevertheless like to register our unhappiness at the relatively low rate of vaccinations.

“We are concerned about the slower uptake of vaccinations in KwaZulu-Natal. We want to plead with citizens of the province to understand that the vaccines are safe, effective and available for free to save you.

“The only way we stand a chance of defeating Covid-19 is by getting everyone vaccinated. Let no one make excuses and let us avoid the cost of delay which might lead to regrets in the future. Let us vaccinate for our own sake and our loved ones,” he said.

The province has now entered the fourth wave with the confirmation that the vast majority of patients requiring ventilation and ICU care are unvaccinated, said Premier Zikalala.

“In the past three weeks, our province has observed a significant climb in the rate of infections on a daily basis. The number of daily cases registered in the past seven days has been rising at an alarming rate. In fact, it is twice the number received two weeks ago. Clearly a new wave of infections is fast rising and the Omicron variant is the driver behind this.

“Three weeks ago, the province had a positivity rate of 0.7%; but as of Sunday, the positivity rate has jumped to 12.7%,” he said, adding that KZN started receiving more than 100 cases a day from November 26 while the average number of cases received daily rose from below 50 to over 350 per day.

The rate of hospitalisations has also increased. However, there is currently no significant increase in the number of deaths

“There has been a notable increase in the infection rate among those who are aged between 30 and 50,” said Zikalala.

The premier urged the province to get their full dosage of the Covid-19 vaccine and to prevent organising or attending gatherings that have the potential of becoming super-spreader events.

“We ask our young people who have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine to come back for their second shot, in order to derive maximum protection from vaccination. This group has shown a lower rate of returning for their second shot.

“Let us remember that we have been here before. About a year ago, during the December holidays, we lost a lot of people due to Covid-19. Mainly, this was due Covid-19 safety protocols not being followed. We had people having large gatherings and Christmas parties, and the virus was able to spread.

“We did not have a vaccine back then, but now we do. So, it is simple. If we want to avoid getting sick or dying from Covid-19 or infecting others with the virus, we must get vaccinated, follow the safety protocols and limit our movements. That way, we will avoid overwhelming our healthcare system, and prevent the massive tragedy that we saw last year,” said the premier.