In a show of leadership, President Cyril Ramaphosa braved the hot seat at Khayelitsha District Hospital where he took a jab of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Watch: Cyril Ramaphosa gets vaccinated
In less than a day since 80 000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine, the health department has initiated the nationwide inoculation drive.
The first person to be vaccinated in South Africa came from the same hospital, a labour ward sister named Azoliswa Gidi-Dyosi. The president arrived in a jovial mood, ready to lead the line in taking a jab of a vaccine that is high on the list of things South Africans don’t trust.
“We have called on leaders in various sectors and parts of the country to lead by example and get inoculated publicly. We will therefore witness some Premiers, MECs and leaders from civil society, religious formations and traditional leadership being vaccinated in all provinces,” the president said in a tweet.
Here’s a clip of Ramaphosa getting vaccinated:
President Cyril Ramaphosa receiving the #Covid19 vaccine. #IChooseVacciNation #VaccineRolloutSA pic.twitter.com/lYJjftWDMl
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) February 17, 2021
By being the lab rat in the vaccine programme, the president hopes to disprove all misguided notions that surround this global effort to eradicate a virus that has killed more than a million people.
“Through this vaccination programme, government aims to achieve population immunity to save lives and protect livelihoods. We have chosen vaccination and we call on all South Africans to choose vaccination and protect one another,” Ramaphosa added.
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize followed suite and also received his jab.
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize receiving the #Covid19 vaccine. #IChooseVacciNation #VaccineRolloutSA pic.twitter.com/ILb1OkVbfJ
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) February 17, 2021
This is the first of many vaccine drives we will witness in the next few weeks, with millions of J&J and Pfizer doses expected to land in our borders.