The Solidarity Fund, which was created so as to rally South Africans around a united response and approach to Covid-19, has called on the youth to take an active role in assisting the over 60s to register on the Electronic Vaccination Data System.
The call was made by the Co-Lead of the Health Pillar at Solidarity fund, Dr Gugu Ngubane, in support of an Alex activation aimed at rallying the youth of Alexandra to come forward and assist the elderly to register for the Covid-19 rollout as the majority of the elderly people may not be as tech savvy to help themselves.
The activation was held at the Alexandra Health Centre on Vincent Tshabalala Road, which is better known as the Alex Clinic or Masakhane Clinic to members of this community, hopes to address and mitigate the cynicism around vaccinations for Covid-19, which are now a core preventative measure against the pandemic.
“Behaviour changes and vaccine literacy are much needed now – more than ever in and around our communities as there are a number of sceptics out there and the flood of misinformation on social media spreading the fake news around the process of vaccination,” Ngubane said.
“Behavioural change agents are being stationed in and around rural and township areas in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Western Cape to assist residents who are 60 years and older with their vaccine registrations.
“These strategic activation areas also include schools, churches, vaccination clinics, soup kitchens, spaza shops, boxer stores, the kasi streets, informal traders, commuters, Sassa payouts, Home Affairs, car washes, hostels, shopping centres, homes, and other centres where educational content that addresses and amplifies vaccine literacy is shared with residents.”
She said in these activations, South Africans are also encouraged to continue to practise the Covid-19 safety guidelines which include proper wearing of masks, covering the nose and mouth even when in the company of friends and family, avoiding large gatherings, ensuring good ventilation, especially when using public transport and maintaining social distance.
Patricia Seshego from Alexandra felt so relieved that she would be able to impart vaccine literacy to her parents. She felt that the pamphlets were quite informative, which would make it easier for her to comfort them with registering.
She expressed her love for the convenience and straightforwardness of the nature of the process after she asked the change agents at the activation to demonstrate it for her. “I will now be having the conversation with my parents with utmost confidence,” she added.
