11 Apr 2021

 Tsabong Sub-district Emergency Operating Centre chairperson, Mr Ronald Baitsewe says it is critical for all those who have taken their first COVID-19 dose to strictly adhere to health protocols as the first injection does not guarantee immunity to coronavirus infection.

Speaking during the commencement of COVID-19 vaccination in Kgalagadi at Tsabong Community Hall on April 9, Mr Baitsewe said vaccinated individuals must continue to wear masks, wash hands, sanitise and social distance to protect themselves while awaiting the second dose. He said that vaccination was not a passport to defy health protocols, thus he called for continued strict adherence.

He noted that after the first arrival of COVID-19 vaccine batches on  March 9 and 27, government rationed doses prioritising districts that were hardest hit by COVID-19. Kgalagadi District received its first 360 doses on Thursday.

To combat the virus, he said, required concerted efforts. As such he encouraged the public to offer health officials support, especially that the ministry was dealing with new a virus that continued to course havoc globally. He called for all to exercise patience through observation of COVID-19 health protocols.

On the first vaccination day in Kgalagadi, 10 district champions and 75-year-olds were vaccinated. However, Mr Baitsewe said that the 360 doses received in the district were not enough to cover everyone who qualified to be vaccinated in the first phase, thus called for all to exercise patience as government continued to strive to secure consignments to enable everyone to be vaccinated.  The received doses, he said, would be divided according to village population sizes.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, he said Kgalagadi South District had recorded 755 cumulative cases, out of which 614 had recovered while 134 cases were still active. Twenty-four patients have been admitted in the health facility while 110 patients were on home isolation.

Kgalagadi Health Management Team coordinator, Ms Gaboelwe Rammekwa assured the public that COVID-19 vaccines had been safely kept under controlled temperatures. 

She encouraged the elderly to register for vaccination and for the youth to use Ministry of Health and Wellness App to register their parents.

She said that registration was important as it informed health officials on numbers before they opened vaccination bottles. “One bottle vaccinates 10 people and if the number of people registered per village is less, we do not vaccinate until they make the required number,” she said. 

Rammekwa said such was so because the vaccine expired six hours after opening.

She alerted those who had been vaccinated that minor symptoms could be experienced after taking an injection such as fever, headache, fatigue, diarrhoea, feeling dizzy and pain during injection. 

Area MP, Mr Sam Brooks appreciated the development, adding that they had expected more doses in Kgalagadi South, but that did not happen due to global shortage. 

He assured the public that despite the shortage, all must be rest assured that they would be vaccinated at the end of the exercise.

He encouraged use of technology for meetings and avoidance social gatherings such as funerals, adding that COVID-19 deaths were on the rise, thus it was crucial for all to understand the danger that lied in defying health protocol. Ends