A mass vaccination drive was held at both the Bekkersdal and Westonaria taxi ranks between Friday November 26 and Tuesday November 30 to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, especially since it now has a new variant called Omicron (B.1.1.529).
The drive was spearheaded by the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) in the West Rand region who partnered with South Deep Mine and the West Rand District Health Services as well as the Gauteng Department of Health.
According to Alfred Masiu, chairman of the business unit of SANTACO West Rand region, the drive was to show they heed the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa to get as many people as possible vaccinated.
We in the public transport sector care about the lives of commuters. We saw this as an important opportunity to encourage people to vaccinate and limit the risk of infection,” Masiu said.
He went on to say that due to the nature of the demands in the taxi industry, they’re grateful that vaccination sites have been provided across the West Rand region.
“This will allow both drivers and commuters to get the jab at their convenience. We will continue to encourage taxi drivers to vaccinate as the vaccine is our only hope to win the war against Covid-19,” Masiu added
