Mpumalanga Doctor Refuses To See Unvaccinated Patients, SA Has Mixed Reactions

Mpumalanga Doctor Refuses To See Unvaccinated Patients, SA Has Mixed Reactions

  • A specialist physician in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, has made known his decision not to see patients who have not been vaccinated against Covid 19
  • Dr Tafara Machiri said his decision follows the realisation that he is tired of losing people to the deadly virus
  • Mzansi has reacted strongly to the doctor's stance, with one Twitter user, @kaysexwale, heading online to share a picture of the notice placed outside Dr Machiri's practice
  • Briefly News sorted through the comments on social media to bring readers some of the most glaring reactions to the news

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A doctor in Mbombela, Mpumalanga has made known his decision not to see patients who have not been vaccinated against Covid 19.

Although getting a jab to protect against the virus is not yet a mandatory requirement, Dr Tafara Machiri said his decision follows the realisation that he is tired of losing people to the deadly virus.

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Doctor, Specialist physician, Mbombela, Mpumalanga, Patients, Covid 19, Dr Tafara Machiri, Deadly virus, Mzansi, Reactions, Social media, Notice, Practice
A doctor in Mbombela, Mpumalanga has made known his decision not to see patients who have not been vaccinated against Covid 19. Image: @kaysexwale/ Twitter.
Source: Twitter

This has seen the specialist physician declaring that he will no longer be seeing unvaccinated patients at his practice owing to what he termed "compassion fatigue", according to News24.

Mzansi has reacted strongly to the doctor's stance, with one Twitter user, @kaysexwale, heading online to share a picture of the notice placed outside Dr Machiri's practice.

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The tweet reads:

"This found its way to me via WhatsApp. I support what Dr Machiri is doing."

The notice says that he will "not be seeing patients who are not vaccinated against Covid 19".

In a recent interview on Cape Talk, Machiri revealed that while he would not be forcing people to take the vaccine, per the notice, he will also not watch them continue to die from a preventable illness.

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Mzansi on the fence on dr's decision not to see unvaxxed patients

Briefly News sorted through the comments on social media to bring readers some of the most glaring reactions to the news.

@KhetheloNgwane declared:

"He has broken his oath."

@BraBobM reasoned:

"This is unethical. I wonder if he will also refuse to treat patients who got injured in car accidents while not wearing seatbelts or patients who got HIV through unprotected sex?"

@mthimbane_daman wrote:

"If everyone that wants to be vaccinated was vaccinated then I would understand but at the moment this is nonsense."

@IamLadyeeElle added:

"It will be interesting to find out what the HPCSA thinks of this."

@Les_shika offered:

"This is a physician, he won't lose patients, patient will actually vaccinate to see him. Physicians are few."

Covid 19: Epidemiologist says get vaccinated before 4th wave

In related news, Briefly News previously reported that an epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist says South Africans need to get vaccinated against the coronavirus before the fourth wave hits.

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Being fully vaccinated, according to Professor Salim Abdool Karim, will put individuals in a better position during the upcoming fourth wave, which is expected to hit in November and December.

He emphasised that vaccines play an important role in preventing serious illness, death and ICU care due to Covid 19.

"Vaccines have a very high efficacy in terms of preventing severe disease that requires ICU care and prevents deaths," said Karim.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Tshepiso Mametela avatar

Tshepiso Mametela (Head of Current Affairs Desk) Tshepiso Mametela is a seasoned journalist with eight years of experience writing for online and print publications. He is the current affairs Head of Desk at Briefly News. He was a news reporter for The Herald, a senior sports contributor at Opera News SA, and a reporter for Caxton Local Media’s Bedfordview and Edenvale News and Joburg East Express community titles. He has attended media workshops, including the crime and court reporting one by the Wits Justice Project and Wits Centre for Journalism in 2024. Email: tshepiso.mametela@briefly.co.za