Vooma Vaccination: Government doesn’t want to ‘kill taxpayers’, says Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday visited Katlehong in Ekurhuleni for the launch of the inaugural Vooma Vaccination Weekend.

Vooma Vaccination Weekend:

Vaccines best defence

The goal of the campaign is to mobilise all citizens over the age of 18 to get vaccinated in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Vaccination is the best defence we have against Covid-19,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa said government would be recognising healthcare workers and provinces who have “worked extremely well” and ramped up vaccinations.

It’s not a competition but we need to recognise those who have done well.

Curb misinformation

He warned against spreading misinformation and assured residents that government would “never want to kill taxpayers”.

While addressing residents at the DH Williams Hall, Ramaphosa called on South Africans to support democracy and vote on 1 November 2021.

Ramaphosa also engaged with traditional leaders and will be visiting the Eastern Cape over the weekend.

SA’s vaccine rollout

As of Friday, 8.8 million adults in South Africa are fully vaccinated, with more than 92,000 receiving their jabs in the past 24 hours.

According to the Department of Health, the country on Thursday administered 146,190 vaccines, bringing the total doses to 17,505,358.

This means the country now has 8,819,130 adults who have either received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson or the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine since the start of the inoculation programme.

In his address on Thursday night, Ramaphosa said government wanted to vaccinate 70% of the adult population in South Africa by the end of 2021. 

“If we reach this target, the Department of Health estimates that we could save up to 20,000 lives,” the president told the country.