Doctors ask residents to get vaccinated on voting day | Western Cape Government

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Doctors ask residents to get vaccinated on voting day

31 October 2021

Vaccination available at many local election voting stations – let’s do this 

In our ongoing commitment to make vaccinations easily available for you - there will be 60 vaccinations pop-sites at voting stations across the Province. This highlights our dedication to ensuring we reach, and provide protection, to as many people possible to mitigate against the impact a possible fourth wave can have. 

The risk of being hospitalised or dying from COVID-19 is real – our data has shown this throughout the pandemic. If you are 50 years and older, you are at higher risk. People over the age of 50 are at increased risk of COVID-19. This risk becomes worse when combined with underlying illnesses (such as kidney disease, diabetes, and hypertension). Over a 12-week period during the third wave, those aged 50 years and older accounted for 30% of cases, 60% of hospital admissions and 83% of deaths. Research in the Western Cape shows that people over 50 years have 7.5 times higher risk of contracting severe COVID-19. A fully vaccinated person is 4.3 times less likely to die of COVID-19 than an unvaccinated person.  

If there is a pop-up vaccination site at your local voting station, please make use of the opportunity. By doing so, you not only protect yourself but also your community. Let’s do this – let’s protect each other and let’s save our summer! 
 

Appeal from our doctors: 

Dr Marisa Crous from Ceres Hospital - “By getting vaccinated without delay, we can stand united against COVID-19. It is the best way to save lives and save our summer.” 

Dr Marisa Crous from Ceres Hospital
 

Dr Anel Scholtz, vaccine lead for Bitou in the Garden Route - “Summer is here, and I would like to spend time with my loved ones on the beach. We can only do this safely if the majority of people are vaccinated. Help us save our summer, get vaccinated.”  

Dr Anel Scholtz, vaccine lead for Bitou in the Garden Route

Dr Jeanmari King, Family Physician for the Swartland and Bergrivier sub-districts - “I am a doctor, wife, sister, daughter but foremost a mother. I am personally seeing and feeling the impact COVID-19 has on my children ― the immense fear and anxiety they are experiencing, the crippling effect on their social interaction and joy. Please get vaccinated. Get your loved ones vaccinated so we can save our summer! Give our children a better reality ― a Christmas with loved ones and freedom to just be.” 

Dr Jeanmari King, Family Physician for the Swartland and Bergrivier sub-districts

 

Dr Christine Kruger from Hermanus Hospital“We must all stand together to show that we care. As a doctor I saw people were dying alone from COVID, but now with the vaccine things have changed and sharing is now caring. Providing emotional and physical care to loved ones is crucial. Sharing the responsibility by everyone getting vaccinated is caring. Let's get vaccinated now to save our summer and protect our loved ones.” 

Dr Christine Kruger from Hermanus Hospital
 

Dr De Vries Basson, epidemiologist and Head of Internal Medicine at Karl Bremer Hospital“Vaccination is not only about protecting our healthcare system and healthcare workers who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. It’s about you, your family and every person you love. I am appealing to all residents to get their vaccines and to ensure that our residents who are 50 years and older are protected as they are a vulnerable group. You are not doing this only for yourself, but for your loved ones, your children, and us as healthcare workers. I am hoping as more people get vaccinated, that the fourth wave will be less intense. Remember, the vaccine cannot prevent you from getting COVID-19, but it can prevent serious illness, hospitalisation and death. Help us save our summer, but most importantly, help us to save lives! Get vaccinated!” 

Dr De Vries Basson, epidemiologist and Head of Internal Medicine at Karl Bremer Hospital

  

Dr Shahieda Jacobs, Medical Officer for the Klipfontein and Mitchells Plain sub-structure“We can take back our lives by standing together to get vaccinated. We are still in this pandemic together and COVID-19 has taken so much from us. This vaccine gives us hope as a form of protection against severe illness or death from COVID-19. By getting vaccinated, you are protecting yourself and those around you, particularly the elderly and more vulnerable people in your community. To prevent the severity of the impact of the fourth wave, I encourage people to vaccinate. Let’s protect each other and save our summer, so we can enjoy valuable time with our loved ones over the festive period.” 

 Dr Shahieda Jacobs, Medical Officer for the Klipfontein and Mitchells Plain sub-structure
 

Listen to our doctors. Help them to take care of us. Get vaccinated! The vaccination sites on Voting Day can be found on our Facebook page: https://web.facebook.com/WCGHealth