MANDLA Sibeko believes the sooner more people get the jab, the sooner the economy will recover.
He is due for his second dose of the vaccine today and he looks forward to it.
The 59-year-old from Central Western Jabavu in Soweto told Daily Sun he will be joined by his wife, who will receive the first dose of the vaccine.
He said: “Covid has caused a lot of havoc in our lives. It has also distracted and affected my family life. I’m grateful I haven’t lost a family member due to Covid, but I have lost colleagues and some of my bosses.”
Mandla, an engineer, said he’s among the luckiest who still kept their jobs. “Families had to survive on salary cuts, if they were not retrenched.
“It has been a tough and emotionally draining journey since the beginning of the pandemic. But there is hope now that we are on level one,” said Mandla.
“Life can go back to normal, but we have the power to rush the process. More people need to vaccinate so we can start focusing on other matters relating to economic growth.
“Many resources were redirected to fight the pandemic. We need to unite to fight Covid because it is not only about government,” he said.
Mandla said he has encouraged his family to get vaccinated.
“I’m happy to take my wife along with me. I trust she will be fine as I never suffered any side effects after I took the first dose. My entire family will be vaccinated,” said Mandla.
On Thursday, 30 September, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the Department of Health would roll out the vaccine certificate as proof that a person has been vaccinated.
He said the certificate could be used to facilitate travel and gatherings among other activities.
