OUR TEACHERS CAME OUT IN NUMBERS FOR THER VACCINATION JAB

BY DAN MDLULI
There are less than 15000 education staff that are yet to receive their vaccination jabs in Mpumalannga.
On Wednesday the vaccination roll out for teachers and education personnel came to an end. This is after the department of basic education had extended it by a week to enable the sector to vaccinate more people and also to mop up where some sites experienced some technical challenges resulting in delays.
Provincial education spokesperson Gerald Sambo said they had recorded 15 000 teachers who had not yet vaccinated before Wednesday.
“So far there are 34 865 officials including teachers who have vaccinated. The total number of staff members recorded is around 53000 including independent and school governing bodies,” Sambo said.
Unions used the occasion of the launch of the program to confirm their unwavering support and encouraged teachers to take advantage of its roll-out.
Both the provincial departments of education and health have since extended messages of appreciation to all officials, support staff and teachers who prioritized and took advantage of the vaccination program and pleaded with those who have not vaccinated to use it to protect themselves and those around them.
Meanwhile minister of basic education announced that there were close to 90 000 teachers that are yet to be vaccinated.
Motshekga says even though the programme had concluded in the sector those who could not make it to the vaccination sites for various reasons were still going to get help.
She said more than 500,000 educators out of 582 000 and staff have now been vaccinated in the sector since the
roll-out began on 23 June 2021.
“I am encouraged with the work done.
we have done very well. To be told that we have vaccinated more than 80 percent of our personnel in the sector, that is good news indeed. We did not expect 100 percent because of hesitancy and other factors but the numbers are high and we are pleased with the achievement”. Motshekga said.
She said the department was aware that some of the personnel live and work in areas affected by the current unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
“In addition to this the department of health has advised that anyone who had been scheduled to be vaccinated at sites in districts or areas that are affected by the unrest are advised to defer their vaccination. The Electronic Vaccine Data System (EVDS) will automatically reschedule appointments for those unable to attend; it is programmed to reschedule up to two missed appointments,” she said.