Get your jabs, encourage family men

Men, who are slower to get their COVID-19 vaccines than women, need to roll up their sleeves and help protect their families.  

Pro-vaccine family men are calling on their peers to get vaccinated against the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) to protect the lives of their families and friends.

Health Minister Joe Phaahla says the number of men getting vaccinated is worryingly low when compared with that of women. He believes this could be because of vaccine misinformation, including the exaggeration of side effects.

“COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective,” says the Minister.

Pastor Dumisani Mthembu, of Pinetown Faith Centre in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal says people must beware of peddlers of misinformation, who use the Bible to discourage people from getting vaccinated.

“We have always trusted our doctors and scientists, who have helped us with so many health issues. There is no doctor who would go to work with the intention to kill people. They are doing all of this work to save humanity from this virus,” he says.

Mthembu says that elders need to teach the young that vaccines have been used for years to protect people against dangerous viruses, such as polio, smallpox, measles, mumps, and rubella.

Mthembu had his first Pfizer jab in May and his second in July. Like most people, he had only minor side effects. He says he had a mild headache, but within three days was back to normal. No side effects were experienced after his second jab.

Pastor Mthembu continues to encourage his congregants to vaccinate so that life – and all church activities – can get back to normal.

Protecting families 

Husband and father Kenny Mdluli (34) from Midrand says he was once sceptical of the vaccine, but his wife Pearl convinced him to get vaccinated in September to help keep his family safe.

“My mother had been in and out of hospital and I was driving her there and back. I worry about her, so I had to vaccinate.’’

He adds that it was also important to him to get vaccinated so that he protects the rest of his family, which includes his seven year-old daughter and his wife.

For detailed information about the vaccination programme or your nearest vaccination site, visit www.sacoronavirus.co.za