Pretoria - Tshwane MMC for health Sakkie du Plooy has welcomed an initiative by the Department of Health to recruit more volunteers in a bid to accelerate the vaccination drive.
He said more volunteers would come as a relief to the metro, which was understaffed by at least 40%.
“Our latest statistics indicate that Tshwane is on its way to overcoming the third wave of the virus. New confirmed daily cases are decreasing, while active Covid-19 cases are currently at the lowest they have been since last month,” Du Plooy said.
He expressed confidence that the City was turning the corner in the fight against the third wave, with the recovery rate standing at 92%.
“However, now is not the time to let our guard down, as we must continue to intensify our efforts. The City is always looking for opportunities to open more vaccination sites to service more people who become eligible to receive jabs,” he said.
An increased number of sites would require more personnel “and that is why the assistance and involvement of volunteers are crucial for our vaccination sites to function effectively”, he said.
He appealed to the people of Tshwane to come forward and volunteer their services, saying that they had previously demonstrated their compassion and commitment to serve deserving causes.
Du Plooy said a Vaccines4HealthCareWorkers platform had been created as a registration portal where people could register as volunteers at vaccination sites.
“Those who are interested can visit https://v4hcw.co.za. You can also contact Dr Kerry Matthews at [email protected] to get more information on functions, responsibilities and opportunities regarding volunteers,” he said.
While only trained health-care workers were allowed to give vaccinations, volunteers were “indispensable in providing support functions, such as administration, patient screening, information sharing and marshalling”, he said.
Pretoria News