‘A prayer is answered’
INOCULATION: JUBILANT HOSPITAL STAFF QUEUE FOR THEIR SHOTS
Prevention better than cure, says doctor who lost parents to the virus.
Staff at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria spent half of the day rehearsing the inoculation trial of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Wednesday.
Registered healthcare workers were already queuing at the hospital’s Covid-19 vaccination area when the media arrived, along with Gauteng premier David Makhura and health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi.
Clinical researcher Dr Matsontso Mathebula said about 13 workers had been vaccinated at the hospital just after 3.30pm. After they were vaccinated, they were observed for 15 minutes.
Makhura and Mokgethi, who was the first to get a jab at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, were monitoring the historic moment in the country after a hiccup with the initial roll-out of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Among those who were elated to receive their first jabs at the hospital was chief executive Dr Mathabo Mathebula, acting head of infectious diseases professor Veronica Ueckermann and anaesthetist Dr Onicca Khobo-Mpe.
There was jubilation in the air, with claps heard from room to room, as staffers received their vaccines.
Khobo-Mpe, who lost both her parents to the virus about a month ago, said the opportunity to be among the first to get the vaccine was exciting and motivating.
She added it was important that healthcare workers took the lead and displayed to the public the process was safe.
“In health, prevention is always better than cure. We have seen many people who have suffered from Covid-19 and the consequences of it have been very deep and immense for many families. I for one have suffered [the] loss of my parents,” Khobo-Mpe said.
Talking about her experience, Ueckermann said the injection was not painful and felt like “a little mosquito bite sting”. “I think we are all tired and the second wave was very big and came very fast. We have all been working very hard and lost colleagues and friends, so, we are very relieved to have had this [vaccine].” The hospital received 5 700 doses and 11 000 were allocated to Baragwanath, Makhura said.
Mathebula said the mood at the hospital was no longer sombre, with staff excited and showing a willingness to take the doses.
“I have been receiving communication as early as 5am from staff members and as I talk to them, they expressed they couldn’t wait to sit on that chair and be protected from the coronavirus.
“It feels like I am seeing rain going away after a big storm. This has been our prayer to say one day we need to find a solution. The only way to deal with a virus is to vaccinate.”
She said the hospital had a target to vaccinate 60 workers but would end up with 40 or less, because the process seemed to take longer than expected.
Mathebula said 1 200 workers were registered to get vaccinated so far.
“We are hoping if we start between 7.30am and 6pm, we would be would be able to cover 100 people per day. We have been given a target of 14 days to complete the 5 700 vaccines.”
Makhura said the province was eagerly waiting for other doses so that the more than 200 000 health workers could be covered before the other phases started.
“This is a new front, where the vaccines are a game-changer in the fight against Covid-19.”
It feels like I am seeing rain going away after a big storm