Older teachers who don’t vaccinate risk death, Eastern Cape education boss warns

Vaccinate or face death, the provincial education department has advised older teachers.

The statement from education department superintendent-general Naledi Mbude comes as Covid-19 infections and deaths are on the rise across the Eastern Cape.

There is a spike in new and active cases, hospitalisation and mortality in all districts. 

Speaking to DispatchLIVE on Thursday, Mbude said vaccination was crucial to the sector as a number of state teachers had died in 2020 due to Covid-19 complications.  

“Some educators are above the age of 50 and with vaccination we hope to see fewer severe cases and mortality,” Mbude said. 

Against this backdrop, the Eastern Cape department of education, which recently rolled out vaccination to its staff, is in a race against time to vaccinate at least 90% of its members before schools open on July 19. 

The sector has 76,000 people including teachers, officials, ground and support staff. It had targeted July 8 as the completion date for vaccination. 

The Nelson Mandela metro has the highest number of infections followed by Sarah Baartman, Buffalo City, Joe Gqabi and Chris Hani municipalities.

A provincial department of health report tabled on Wednesday provided a cautionary list of municipalities and sub districts which needed to be watched. 

These included: Matatiele in Alfred Nzo, Great Kei, Ngqushwa and Raymond Mhlaba, Duncan Village and West Bank in Buffalo City metro, Emalahleni, Enoch Mgijima and Inxuba Yethemba in Chris Hani, Senqu and Walter Sisulu in Joe Ggabi.  

Other areas of concern in the province include Mhlontlo in OR Tambo and seven local municipalities in Sarah Baartman.

Mbude said Nelson Mandela Bay had not allocated enough sites for vaccination.

“At this stage 80% of people in the sector have been vaccinated,” Mbude said. 

She said there had been delays with independent schools and governing body-appointed members. 

There was a blockage from the Department of Health of staff who did not reflect on the Electronic Vaccination Data System, Mbude said.  

She said the department could not force people to get vaccinated, as some had shown hesitancy, but she encouraged teachers to vaccinate to reduce morbidity in the near future. 

She said the sector was reconciling the number of staff who had received the vaccine from pharmacies, and those who had tested positive for the virus during the time of vaccination. 

At national level, this week basic education minister Angie Motshekga said the Department of Health had offered additional doses that would be used to vaccinate others in the sector who had not been initially included. 

At a press briefing at the Gallagher Estate vaccination site in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Mothsekga said:  “We initially targeted 582,000 people in the sector but we have now loaded on the EVDS system, 789,554 who include food handlers, janitors, and support staff from independent schools and Early Childhood Development centres located within school premises.

“The department respects an individual’s right not to be vaccinated, especially in those cases where people have indicated that they are not willing to get vaccinated. 

“However, we would like to appeal to all our personnel to get the vaccine,” Mothsekga said. 

Mothsekga said when schools reopened all teachers, including those with comorbidities, were expected to return to work. 

DispatchLIVE