Youth become vaccine ‘influencers’
KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala said young people could influence older generations as they receive the vaccine.
THE over-18 age group is leading KwaZulu-Natal in the vaccination process as the province faces the third wave of the deadly virus.
Speaking at the Archie Gumede Conference Centre in Mayville on August 29, KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Sihle Zikalala said young people could influence older generations as they receive the vaccine.
“We share the sentiments that have been expressed by academics elsewhere that the vaccination of the over – 18 cohort is good for us in a number of ways. Firstly, it means that all adults with co-morbidities are now eligible for vaccination. But secondly, as a relatively young country, the over-18 population group is quite sizeable and influential. It therefore has the power to change the narrative around vaccination and make it positive. This is especially so, on social media, which is one place that shapes people’s opinions and their general outlook,” he said.
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According to Zikalala, 55 302 people were vaccinated from August 20-27. The total number of people in this age group to be vaccinated stood at 216 754 on August 29. “This gives us an average of 7000 vaccinations among this group, per day,” said Zikalala.
“We are pleased that the over 18s are coming out in numbers and sharing their ‘selfies’ and posting videos of themselves getting vaccinated. May this spirit continue, because it has a number of these positive spin-offs. This also means that these youngsters will be safe from the virus; but also, they will pose less of a threat to their parents, grandparents, and other members of their households who might be of advanced age, or be living with comorbidities,” he added.
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KZN has breached above the 2 million mark in terms of the number of inoculated persons.
“We have as a province a target of vaccinating a total of 7,5 million people if we are to contribute meaningfully to the country achieving population immunity for the Covid-19 virus. Our target is to reach 60 000 daily vaccinations, which could help us reach our target of 7,2 million vaccinations by the end of March next year. This will allow us to firmly focus on the task of rebuilding the economy and saving jobs,” said Zikalala.
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