South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday said the country’s vaccination efforts will be a key factor in limiting a potential fourth wave of Covid-19 infections at the end of 2021, reported Business Tech.
During an oral Q&A session in parliament on Friday, President Ramaphosa said that getting vaccinated was important for restarting normal activities in the country. He urged the people to go out and get vaccinated in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 and help the country reach herd immunity.
“Getting vaccinated is not only a personal choice about protecting yourself from infection,” the South African president said. “It is also about protecting others, including your family, friends, and co-workers, and allowing the whole of society to return to normal activity more quickly.”
He said if the health authorities are successful in vaccinating a large proportion of the country’s adult population by December, then there is a possibility of avoiding another devastating wave of infections and restrictions on the economy.
Ramaphosa said that those who refuse to be vaccinated increase the risks for others and chances of a further resurgence of infections as well as prolonged economic hardship and lack of recovery. He said all South Africans over the age of 18 have the responsibility to go to their nearest vaccination site to protect themselves, to protect others, and to help get the country’s economy back on track.
“Above all, vaccines are free in our country, they are safe, and they are effective,” the South African president said.
Despite reiterating calls for people to get vaccinated, Ramaphosa said that no one should be forced to be vaccinated.
Notably, South Africa is the worst COVID-19 pandemic hit country in Africa. The government has reported over 2,800,000 coronavirus cases so far and more than 83,000 deaths.
Scientists have recently found a new deadly coronavirus variant called C.1.2 in South Africa and some other countries as well. The variant has 44- 59 mutations.
