Mpumalanga premier not satisfied with vaccination stats

“When you look at the statistics, in this municipality alone, which by the way is the epicentre of the virus, we have about 66 000 people and only half this number was registered for vaccination. And out of this 50% that have registered, only 87% came through to be vaccinated. This to me is worrisome. Where are these elderly citizens? Why do they not go to be vaccinated, since they are the most fragile and vulnerable?” she asked.

“We need to go and look for them and encourage them to get vaccinated. And, of course, if they are afraid of the jab because of the myths going around, it is our duty to sit them down and explain to them why it is important for them to vaccinate and get them to understand this and the false myths,” she added.

Mtshweni-Tsipane was accompanied by the provincial MEC for health, Sasekani Manzini, to the state-of-the-art Sasol Medical Centre where the employees took the jab. Sasol will embark on a five-day Covid-19 vaccination drive, in which it is expected to vaccinate over 15 000 people working in this giant mine.

Through this partnership, the provincial government has made available resources, which include but are not limited to vaccines and trained personnel, to administer vaccinations to Sasol employees and service providers.

Mtshweni-Tsipane said as part of the government’s mass vaccination programme, she will be visiting a number of companies and communities this week to monitor vaccinations in the province.

She said she will be targeting the mining and agricultural sectors operating in the province.

“I would like to encourage our communities to refrain from spreading false information about the vaccine. We need to go all out and mobilise our communities to go and do what is right and get vaccinated. The more we vaccinate, the better for the country, and we would be able to quickly go back to normality and resuscitate our economy,” urged MtshweniTsipane.