By Kaya 959 Reporter
Players from PSL teams, Mamelodi Sundowns and TS Galaxy FC, heeded President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for more men to get vaccinated.
On Monday, several players, senior management and technical staff ventured out to vaccine sites where they rolled up their sleeves.
“The decision by the PSL football teams to take the COVID-19 vaccination publicly is significant and is in line with the return to play social mobilisation programme launched by government and social partners,” said MEC for the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture in Gauteng, Mbali Hlophe.
She said the government is hopeful that having the teams vaccinated publicly will go a long way to convince persons who are still hesitant about taking the Covid-19 vaccine.
“We all need to vaccinate in order to take back our lives and return and adjust to a new normal,” Hlophe said.
ALSO READ: Mamelodi Sundowns partners with Jay Z’s Roc Nation
Addressing the country on Sunday, Ramaphosa said more women were coming forward to be vaccinated.
“Although the numbers are improving, men are still slow in coming forward to be vaccinated.
” We are spreading the message in all languages to ensure that people understand that these vaccines are safe, effective and free,” Ramaphosa said.
Vaccination programme open to all
He said there is overwhelming evidence regarding the safety of vaccines, as seen in countries around the world.
“We have taken steps to make it easier for people to access vaccination wherever they are.
“We now have more than 3 000 public and private vaccination sites across the country, and most private sites will vaccinate any member of the public for free whether you have health insurance or not.
“I want to stress that the vaccination programme is open to all people in South Africa, whether or not they are South African citizens,” he said.
He added that the sooner more people are vaccinated, the sooner more venues, including sports venues, can be opened to the public.
“When we are vaccinated, we will be able to return our economy to full operation and create the jobs that our country needs. Importantly, when we are vaccinated, we will be able to restore all our other critical health interventions and relieve the strain on our health workers,” he said.
The Department of Health has confirmed that nearly 15 million South Africans have been vaccinated.
ALSO READ: South African men are reluctant to take COVID-19 vaccines



