Deputy President David Mabuza explained that as part of its social mobilisation programme, government must educate communities about the benefits of vaccines, dispel myths and stop the spread of fake and untrue conspiracy theories around Covid-19 vaccines.

Mabuza was speaking during a Covid-19 vaccination social mobilisation campaign launch by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, held at the FNB Stadium, in Johannesburg.

He said educating communities will ensure the elimination of vaccine hesitancy and save more lives. 

Mabuza, in his capacity as the chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Covid-19 Vaccines, led the campaign launch under the theme: “Return to Play – it’s in your hands”.

He said as a country, citizens must contribute to the global fight against Covid-19, and revive sports and creative industries to contribute to economic recovery and reconstruction.   

“If we are to revive our vibrant creative industries, return to theatres and stadiums to play and enjoy sport and entertainment, it is important that our vaccination programme is accelerated to reach as many people as possible,” he said.

Mabuza said with the active participation of leaders and practitioners in the creative sectors and in sport, government could extend it message to get South Africans vaccinated. 

“We have partnered in our collective commitment to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic by ensuring that we reach out to our communities through the Vaccination Social Mobilisation Campaign that we are launching today. Our call-to-action to every South African is to vaccinate to reduce the rates of infections, hospitalisation and deaths,” Mabuza explained.

REACHING HIGHER LEVELS OF VACCINATION

He added that the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented pain and hardship across the globe.

“It decimated lives, and disrupted global supply chains, trade and the free movement of people due to imposed lockdowns and travel restrictions,” he stated.

In South Africa, he said the response to containing the spread of Covid-19 infections necessitated the implementation of restrictions that impacted on the economy to ensure that lives were saved. 

He noted that South Africa, and the wider African continent, had to reach levels of vaccination that would allow it to follow countries such the UK and Germany, who have reached population immunity.

“Clearly we have to do more to turn around this situation of vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination sentiments due mainly to fake news, misinformation and conspiracy theories about the safety and efficacy of vaccines,” he pointed out.

Mabuza said the social mobilisation campaign must assist the country in ramping up its vaccination programme to reach the required target of herd immunity so that sporting and entertainment venues could be opened.

“A vaccinated nation is what it will take to once again open the stadium for the popular Soweto Derby; a vaccinated nation is what it will take to open the Cape Town Jazz Festival, the Macufe and other prominent music events in our calendar; and indeed a vaccinated nation is what it will take to open the Durban July and other similar events,” he said.

These events are important to the life of the country’s economy, he added.

By inoculating, government could address the issue of unemployed youth in the economy and the market whose prospects for employment continued to be affected by government not opening all these events and activities offered by the creative sector.