Soshanguve teachers get their jabs

Teachers from different Soshanguve schools visited the block JJ clinic on Thursday to get their Covid-19 vaccinations.

This follows Sunday’s announcement by Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga that 582 000 staff at public and private schools would be vaccinated between Wednesday and July 8.

Motshekga said though vaccination was not mandatory, it was highly recommended.

A teacher from Nchuncheko primary school, Mihloti Mashimbye, said it was a great thing that they have been prioritised as they were with children from different homes every weekday.

“The children are exposed to their parents and the community, so this is really good for us. It is better with the vaccine because should you get infected, it will not be so severe.”

Mashimbye said one of the challenges she faced was that some of the learners forget to put on their masks.

“It is a grade 1 class, so they forget to put on their masks. Sometimes they just put it below the mouth but I always remind them to always keep their masks on.”

She also encouraged other teachers who were still in doubt about taking the vaccine to vaccinate.

Another teacher from Uthando primary school Nizipho Mazibuko said they interacted a lot with children from different homes.

“We are faced with rotation challenges and some learners are not adhering to the Covid-19 regulation in schools. We as teachers try to practices all the Covid-19 regulations.”

Mazibuko said although taking the vaccine was not mandatory, she felt that her fellow teachers who did not take the vaccine would be putting others at risk.

In a statement on Wednesday, Gauteng Department of Education said more than 125 934 workers in the education sector in Gauteng were expected to get vaccinated in the 10 days between June 23 and July 8.

“Of that, a total of 71 726 are educators at Gauteng public schools, 24 492 are non-educators such as clerks, food handlers and teacher union staff, among others. A total of 10 488 school governing body-appointed educators and grade R practitioners in public schools are also eligible for the shots. The remainder – 19 678 – is made up of educators from independent schools.”

On Wednesday, education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said they were happy with the progress made at all 60 sites in Gauteng as no major glitches were reported besides a few challenges that were quickly attended to.

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