Durban: KwaZulu-Natal member of the executive council for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Ravi Pillay said he was feeling fine after getting his first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on Monday.
Pillay received his jab at the Royal Showgrounds vaccination site in Pietermaritzburg in the Msunduzi local municipality, the department said in a statement. He will get his second dose in 42 days time.
I am taking advantage of the Covid vaccination programme for those over 60 years and I do qualify … Theres no adverse effects, I feel quite fine, the department quoted Pillay as saying, minutes after getting the injection.
He said health workers in the province had already been vaccinated and phase two of South Africas programme targeted at those aged 60 and above was well under way.
Around 69,958 health-care workers have been vaccinated in KwaZulu-Natal already, according to a report earlier this month. The provinces vaccination plan will hopefully see at least 2.9 million people inoculated by October, Premier Sihle Zikalala has said.
On Monday, Pillay urged those qualifying for vaccination to do so as this was pivotal in grappling with the coronavirus.
(Although) there is a lot of fake news going out there … I think our government has done well. We are acting on the advice of the best scientists and experts, he said.
This program is backed by the World Health Organization the vaccines are approved by the relevant regulatory authorities not only in our country, but in other countries of the world. So we have reason to feel secure that all checks and balances and safeguards are in place, Pillay said.
African News Agency
