There were, however, 3,000 individuals in the Northern Cape education sector who opted not to be vaccinated.
OVER 11,000 educators and support staff were vaccinated during the Northern Cape Department of Education’s vaccination programme, which came to an end on Wednesday.
The department made use of 29 vaccination sites across the Province and the vaccination process started on June 23.
Department spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said on Thursday that there were, however, individuals in the education sector who opted not to be vaccinated.
“A total of 11,012 educators and support staff were vaccinated, which represents 76.4% of the 14,425 targeted population in the Province. This indicates that we still have 3,388 educators and support staff at schools that have not yet chosen the route of vaccination. We are currently engaging the Department of Health for a possible ‘mop-up’ programme, which will provide those who have not yet vaccinated the opportunity to do so,” said Van der Merwe.
He assured those who may have hesitations about the vaccination that the process is safe.
“We must emphasise that the vaccination has proven to be safe for those who chose it, with no reports of any adverse effects from the vaccine.”
Van der Merwe commended the Department of Health for its “sterling partnership” during the process.
“We would like to thank the Department of Health and all health-care workers for their relentless efforts to vaccinate educators and support staff in the Province. We urge our people to appreciate our health workers and to do what we can to lighten their load by continuously doing what we should to curb the spread of Covid-19 in our communities.
“We would also like to appeal to all schools to remain vigilant and adhere to the Covid-19 health protocols by wearing masks at all times, washing or sanitising hands regularly and maintaining social distance,” Van der Merwe concluded.
