The chief director for the Department of Health in Vhembe, Mr Robert Sirwali, said that 19 more vehicles had been allocated to help ease the backlog of Covid vaccinations. The vehicles were procured by the disaster management department to assist with transportation, especially in the rural and farming communities.
"Many things within the department get shifted to assist with the Covid-vaccination programmes. Our vaccination teams will have to visit rural communities and invite them to gather in community and tribal halls, churches and mines to fast-track our vaccination programme," said Sirwali. He also made an appeal to the communities, church leaders and traditional leaders to allow the department the use of these facilities, so that as many residents as possible in these areas could get vaccinated.
Sirwali was joined by some of the sub-district managers and health officials when the new vehicles were handed over to the drivers and nurses at the parking lot of the Department of Health's office in Thohoyandou on Thursday, 5 August.
The drivers were warned that they would be charged, should the vehicles be used for any other purpose than the vaccination programme.
Ms Virginia Masungwini, one of the sub-district managers who also received a vehicle for her vaccination team, said that they would now be able to cover most of the rural villages that had previously been difficult to reach, and should meet their target with the help of the new vehicles.
"We had to share vehicles among our vaccination teams, which caused great delays in reaching the vaccination points in time. The new vehicles will definitely make things a lot easier for us," Masungwini said.