Vaccine hesitancy, together with access to facilities in
remote areas, are some of the major stumbling blocks to the vaccine rollout
program in the country.
Many people do not trust that vaccines are safe and through
information spread through social media, are not willing to take the shot.
For Thembalwethu Jokwana, getting vaccinated is something he
believes he has to do, not only for himself but to also protect those closest
to him.
"I am here to vaccinate, to protect myself and my
family. I'm staying with my father and his wife. My father had diabetes, so I'm
trying to protect them and my mom and me so that we can be safe," he said.
His friend Wongalwethu Mbanjwa, a gym fanatic, couldn't wait
to get vaccinated so he can finally get back to the gym. After trying to get
his jab elsewhere and finding the facility closed, he heard about the
vaccination train from his friend Jokwana, who gets to and from work by
passenger train and spotted the Transvaco train on his way home.
"My friend, when he come from work, he uses the train
as a transport, you know, so when...his stop is here in the Swartkop. So, when
he came, you know, at home today he told me about this so that we can go and
get vaccinated...We started somewhere else but it was closed. So, he said to
me, no man, I saw a train at Swartkops so we must come here. So that's how
(laughs) I come here," said Mbanjwa.
Doctor and train manager Dr Paballo Mokwana explains that
the train mandate is to vaccinate as many people as possible while making its
way through various towns in South Africa. She says there is still a long road
ahead and would encourage as many people as possible to get vaccinated.
Mokwana says that through their outreach program, where a
team is assigned off-site to vaccinate staff members at various companies and
factories around Swartkops station, has been helpful in bringing up the numbers
of people vaccinated in the area.
Untsaphokazi Singaph who works at Welfit Oddy, a factory
that specializes in the manufacture and sales of tank containers, arrived for
her second dose with a smile on her face. As she goes through the checks and
balances, she is excited to let the staff know that this is her last jab.
"I am happy, and I feel at peace," she said,
adding: "I least I know that I am safe and so are my children and others
around me. So, I am really at peace with the fact that I'm done. I have been
waiting for the moment where I too can say that I am among the vaccinated in
South Africa."
Mokwana is optimistic about the role the train can plan in
reaching heard immunity for South African to get back to "whatever is left
of normal," as soon as possible.