EWN reports that the Limpopo Department of Health has defended its remarks on a controversial poster that did the rounds on social media last week encouraging the 18 to 34 cohort to vaccinate against Covid-19 infection.
The poster read “mjolo slaps better when you are protected, no condom, no sex - no vaccine certificate, no dating.” On Monday, Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba stood by the controversial slogan, saying a fourth wave of infections was looming and youngsters needed to be encouraged in a language they understood. She said that the general public shouldn’t expect her department to use a tame approach for campaigns when the health department had to bear the brunt of the pandemic. “We will use the language that they understand. They will not understand if you say to them being around an unvaccinated person puts you at risk. But when you say to a young person ‘mjolo slaps better when we are vaccinated,’ it attracts them. They’ll want to understand, read and listen more,” Ramathuba explained. She said that with budget cuts within her department, they couldn't afford to be reactive when a fourth wave hit and they would use any method possible to ensure that people heeded the call to vaccinate. Ramathuba also reiterated that she was lobbying for the liquor industry to self-regulate to allow hospitals to cope.
- Read the original of the report in the above regard by Nobuhle Nkhoma at EWN
- Read too, Limpopo authorities under fire for forced vaccination proposal, on page 2 of Sunday Independent of 29 August 2021
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page