[ad_1]
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. (Photo: Beeld)
- Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is the latest leader to commit to taking the Covid-19 vaccine once it becomes available.
- His promise comes as conspiracy theories about the vaccine have spread like wildfire on social media.
- Misinformation around vaccines has created doubt and fear.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and his foundation have supported the Covid-19 vaccine.
Tutu, 89, has vowed to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as soon as it becomes available, the Legacy Desmond Foundation and Leah Tutu said in a statement Monday.
His announcement follows the avalanche of misinformation and misinformation that has spread about vaccines, which has spread across social media platforms, creating doubt and fear about taking the vaccine once it is available.
Recently, President Cyril Ramaphosa and EFF leader Julius Malema have also disposed of conspiracy theories surrounding the vaccine.
READ | Covid-19 vaccine: fear and conspiracies take over the nation
Promising to take the vaccine once it is available, Tutu said that Covid-19 has wreaked havoc and destroyed the lives and livelihoods of many, which can now be stopped with the vaccine.
Tutu said:
Vaccines have eradicated terrible diseases, like smallpox, and we are close to using them to make other diseases, like polio and measles, a thing of the past. However, many people fear or distrust this simple, safe, and effective way to protect people against infectious diseases even before they come into contact with them. There is nothing to fear.
“Vaccination uses your body’s natural defenses to build resistance to infection. It strengthens your immune system, and because vaccines contain only killed or weakened forms of viruses or bacteria that cause disease, they do not cause disease or put you in harm’s way. risk of complications “.
Tutu also spoke about tuberculosis (TB), which he had contracted as a teenager in 1945 and led to him being hospitalized for treatment.
Tutu said that while tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death in South Africa, in many countries, tuberculosis is no longer a threat as it has been largely eradicated thanks to a combination of vaccines and effective treatment.
“We can do the same with Covid-19 and reclaim our lives,” Tutu added.
“The more people are vaccinated against Covid-19, the more we are all protected against this unpredictable and devastating disease.”
READ ALSO | SA increases the number of doses of Covid-19 vaccine it will receive
“Vaccinated people are protected from contracting the disease they have been inoculated against and from transmitting it. This breaks the chain of transmission, but to do it properly, most people in a community must be vaccinated. This is what is known as’ herd immunity ‘”.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said that formidable progress had been made in the vaccine negotiations and insisted that the government would honor its commitment to vaccinate two-thirds of the population, News24 reported last week.
One million Serum Institute of India vaccines are expected to be delivered by the end of January, while another 500,000 are expected to be delivered in February.
The government has said that around 67% of the population will be vaccinated before the end of 2021, with the aim of achieving herd immunity.
Tutu’s final comments were that he would take the Covid-19 vaccine because he already knows what it’s like to lose years of his life to illness.
“I also know what it’s like to worry about having passed a preventable disease to the people I love.”
Tutu concluded:
Don’t let Covid-19 continue to devastate our country or our world. Vaccinate.
The foundation’s executive director, Piyushi Kotecha, said Tutu’s commitment encouraged them and called on other figures to do the same.
“The foundation calls on South Africans to follow the archbishop’s example once a safe, effective and approved vaccine is available to all,” Kotecha said.
Did you know that you can comment on this article? Subscribe to News24 and add your voice to the conversation.
