COVID-19 vaccine brings hope to Elim Night Shelter staff and residents | Western Cape Government

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COVID-19 vaccine brings hope to Elim Night Shelter staff and residents

17 August 2021

The COVID-19 vaccine has brought hope and relief to people across the world who have experienced loss due to the pandemic.

This was the case for an Elim Night Shelter resident and employee, Msindisi, as he prefers to be called. Msindisi moved to Cape Town for employment, after the company he worked for shut down in Johannesburg. Msindisi, a Durban University of Technology graduate, later found a home and employment at the Elim Night Shelter in Elsies River, and he has hopes of starting his own business. Msindisi currently works at the IT technician at Elim. In order to build a better life, Msindisi decided to get vaccinated to protect his health.

“I got my vaccine today to stay safe against the virus, COVID-19. I can’t help that the virus impacted my work, but I can prevent it from affecting my health by taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Today I had the opportunity to get my vaccine to protect myself. I love entrepreneurship and hope to start my own business without fear of severe illness from COVID-19 taking it away from me.”

The Northern and Tygerberg Substructure health team took its vaccination drive to the Elim Night Shelter in Elsies River. The team found that some residents had already been vaccinated. One resident, 65-year-old James Monteiro, proudly shared that he had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine at the Goodwood Civic Centre as he feared becoming seriously ill. James is a COVID-19 survivor.

“I heard that everyone was going for their vaccine, and I thought I should go too. They said that it would protect us. I previously became ill, last year after Christmas. I had COVID-19 but luckily, I did not become too ill. I was hospitalised after becoming sick. It’s been more than a month since I got my second shot of the vaccine, and I am still in good health. I would encourage other people to get their vaccine as well.”

Elim Night Shelter manager, Shafeek Ortell, has thanked Western Cape Government Health and all healthcare workers for their partnership in vaccinating residents.

“This pandemic has impacted our team. We had two cases where our residents had to be isolated due to the virus. Like many other organisations, the pandemic impacted everyone financially. We brought the vaccination programme to our team and residents to protect everyone against the virus. We have had cases where residents were a little hesitant at first, but we will continue to encourage all residents. We thank God that all our elderly have been vaccinated. We thank the healthcare team from Reed Street CDC who came out today to do the vaccinations.”

Western Cape Government Health enourages all members of the public to register for vaccination. Remember, if you need assistance with registration, you can visit your nearest vaccination site for assistance.

You can also register for vaccination by:

Media Enquiries: 

Shimoney Regter
Communications Officer
Department of Health
Western Cape Government
Office: 021 815 8885                                                                                                                
Cell: 081 342 6687
E-mail:  shimoney.regter@westerncape.gov.za
Website: www.westerncape.gov.za