MADALA Alfred Ngoepe is one of the oldest people to have received the Covid-19 vaccination.
The 121-year-old from Grootpan Village in Blouberg, Limpopo received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at De Beers Venetia Mine on Wednesday, 8 December.
Medical staff told Daily Sun that madala Alfred walked in happy and looked even happier when he left, smiling and waving at everyone.
Speaking in a shaky voice, the madala told the SunTeam he wanted to live as long as possible and didn’t want to become infected with the virus. “I encourage the youth to take Covid-19 seriously and get vaccinated to protect themselves against the virus. As an elderly man, I travelled a long distance to come here to make sure my health is well taken care of,” said madala Alfred.
In June, the health department announced that gogo Nomamelika Philiso (119) from Alfred Nzo in the Eastern Cape had become the oldest person to become vaccinated.
Anglo American and its subsidiaries, including De Beers, started a workplace vaccination programme in July. The programme was later extended to dependents of employees and contractors above the age of 18.
De Beers spokesman Peter Moeti said: “The impact of Covid-19 on our lives, health, the economy and our work cannot be quantified. This is why achieving a high uptake of Covid-19 vaccination among our people is so important.
“Vaccines are vital to protecting our health and enabling us to operate safely and productively. It has taken a great deal of efforts, working in unity with government and the public sector, to make information on vaccines easily accessible.”
