UL surpasses 12 000 mark for Covid-19 inoculations

Only two months after the University of Limpopo (UL)’s vaccination point opened its doors to staff and students, as well as the surrounding communities, the site has administered 12 006 doses of both Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines

On July 19, UL launched the vaccination site as a secondary point to Mankweng Hospital, and it has since been able to relieve the hospital of the long queues. The vaccination centre is part of the Limpopo Department of Health’s attempt to increase access to the Covid-19 vaccine to achieve provincial herd immunity by the end of October.

The Director of Health and Wellness Centre at UL, Norman Letebele acknowledged his delight at having achieved the 12,000 milestones in only two months, but he believes that more could have been done if people had not been hesitant.

“I am overjoyed because this is a watershed moment for us. I wish we could have accomplished more. We are the community’s preferred client services provider because we are really good at what we do. I have a fantastic team that is always friendly, professional, and competent. We are driven by the Batho Pele Principles,” Letebele explained.

He added that the university’s health centre has an instinct for growth, which he summarily described as a desire to learn and adapt, as the pandemic is new to everyone.

“Word of mouth helped a lot because we do it right the first time to create the first impression,” he noted, adding that the Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Mahlo Mokgalong’s visibility and regular visits to the site have been encouraging.

Letebele remarked that those who are hesitant to be vaccinated should understand that the purpose of vaccination is to protect people, not to harm them.

“Let us choose vaccination so that we can quickly achieve population immunity and return to our normal lives without masks and all the restrictions,” he continued.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his address to the nation recently, stated that the vaccination is now open to South Africans of all ages. The government reiterated that vaccines undergo rigorous trials to ensure they are safe and effective. According to the government, all vaccines go through a comprehensive approval process by medical regulators to ensure that they are safe. In addition, pharmaceutical companies hand over all laboratory studies and safety trials to validate that the vaccine does work.

How safe are vaccines?

Covid-19 vaccines go through a rigorous, multi-stage testing process, including large trials that involve tens of thousands of people. These trials, which include people at high risk for Covid-19, are specifically designed to identify any common side effects or other safety concerns.

Once a clinical trial shows that a Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective, a series of independent reviews of the efficacy and safety evidence is required, including regulatory review and approval in the country where the vaccine is manufactured, before World Health Organization (WHO) considers a vaccine product for pre-qualification.

An external panel of experts, convened by WHO, analyses the results from clinical trials, along with evidence on the disease, age groups affected, risk factors for disease, and other information. The panel recommends whether and how the vaccines should be used.

Necessity of vaccines

There is overwhelming scientific evidence that vaccination is the best defence against serious infections. Vaccines do not give you the virus, rather it teaches your immune system to recognise and fight the infection.

The Covid-19 vaccine presents the body with instructions to build immunity and does not alter human cells. Vaccines have reduced the morbidity and mortality of infectious diseases such as smallpox, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, measles, tetanus, whooping cough, and pneumococcal conjugate across the world.

Vaccinating enough people would help create herd immunity and stamp out the disease.

By Moses Moreroa