Vaccinated People Must Be Protected From COVID 19 Exposure Says Deputy Health Minister

• The deputy health minister, Dr Dhlomo, has said that measures must be put in place to protect vaccinated South Africans from exposure to Covid-19
• President Cyril Ramaphosa's task team is working on finalising how the vaccine mandate will be applied
• According to Dhlomo the health department is not only prepared for the current wave of Covid-19, but also for future waves

CAPE TOWN - Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, the deputy health minister, has stated that unvaccinated people must not be granted the opportunity to expose vaccinated people to Covid-19.

Dhlomo's statement follows President Ramaphosa's address to South Africans on Sunday (28 Nov) where he announced that a task team was working on a policy to institute a vaccine mandate at certain venues and for specific situations.

“A collective right becomes superior to an individual right. We will not deny you to stay at home if you so wish but you can't force yourself into a taxi of 10 other people who are vaccinated if you refuse to vaccinate but you want to travel with them to work," Dhlomo said.

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The vaccine mandate and future Covid-19 waves

According to TimesLIVE, legal experts have advised the South African government to promote people to voluntarily get vaccinated, but also agree that a vaccine mandate would be legally sound.

Dhlomo said that his department has prepared itself for the fourth wave and has measures in place should a fifth wave occur in the future, EWN reports. He specifically noted that they have ample hospital beds and vaccinations available.

The deputy health minister added that Omicron poses a huge threat to unvaccinated people in particular, as most of the people who have been hospitalised due to the new variant are not vaccinated.

South Africa shares their reactions to Dhlomo's statement

@gwele_zola believes:

"I would agree that vaccination should restrict things for the unvaccinated, no more lockdowns."

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@ShepherdSilayi said:

"So the 35% vaccinated people are above everybody else's rights? If that's the case then vaccinated should be the ones only paying taxes since we will not be participating in the economy. Simple."

@DumoEric asked:

"Who are in danger? The vaccinated or non-vaccinated?"

@KevTheMan40 shared:

"That's funny, because I don't want vaccinated people near me because they are carriers and spreaders of the variants."

@morenajobo said:

" I have being reading the statement from deputy minister trying to figure out exactly who is putting who in danger of contracting the new variants, the more I read it the I get convinced that all this is a big joke."

Vaccine mandate has no legal problems

Earlier Briefly News reported that President Ramaphosa's vaccine mandate task team is working to decide how the policy must be implemented.

Various organisations and individuals have publicly declared that they will bring legal action against the government if the vaccine mandate is instituted.

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Where vaccine mandates could be adopted in SA, lobby groups advise government on policy

Mike Evans, a public lawyer who advised the government on lockdown restrictions, said that legal challenges to the vaccine mandate will probably be unsuccessful. However, a number of organisations, including the ACDP and AfriForum, are determined to pursue legal action.

Source: Briefly News