Johannesburg - Cape Town nurse Zoliswa Gidi-Dyosi became the first South African to receive the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine at the Khayelitsha Hospital on Wednesday.
Gidi-Dyosi received her jab after a consignment of 80 000 doses arrived from the US on Tuesday night.
Gidi-Dyosi was part of a contingent of healthcare workers that received the first doses of the Johnson & Johnson jabs at the Khayelitsha district hospital in Cape Town on Wednesday.
Gidi-Dyosi is a registered nurse and midwife.
“At the moment I don't feel anything, I am still okay,” she said.
Gidi-Dyosi said her family was happy for her to take the vaccine and she had spoken to her husband. She said the vaccine jab did hurt, a little.
She was joined by her colleagues Dr. Sa’ad Lahri an emergency physician, Mavuyo Mpambani a housekeeping healthcare worker and Cwengisa Dadirai, an admin clerk.
16 healthcare workers in total will be vaccinated today. The vaccinated healthcare workers will now undergo a period of medical observation.
Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize also got their vaccination jabs at the same hospital on Wednesday afternoon.
Ramaphosa, who was wearing a suit, rolled up his shirt and took the jab on his left arm. After receiving his jab, he was in good spirits, joking with the nurse and he signalled with a thumbs up.
South Africa is kicking off its vaccination programme with Johnson & Johnson vaccines after it took a decision to put AstraZeneca vaccines on hold last week.
South Africa had procured one million doses, but a study raised concerns about the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine dealing with the 501Y.V2 variant, which has become the dominant Covid-19 variant in South Africa since December.
In the next four weeks, South Africa is expected to receive 500 000 more Johnson & Johnson doses.
South Africa has secured nine million Johnson & Johnson doses, 12 million vaccine doses from the Covax facility, 20 million doses from Pfizer and an undisclosed number of doses through the AU’s African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team facility.
#WeChooseVaccination https://t.co/hOzeslWX7H
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 #StaySafe (@CyrilRamaphosa) February 17, 2021
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