CAPE TOWN – Perhaps the biggest social media trend of 2021, vaccine selfies as they are called, have taken over social media since the launch of the Covid-19 vaccination in the country last week.
Social media has buzzed with health workers sharing photos, especially selfies of them receiving the Covid-19 vaccine in hopes of encouraging others to get vaccinated as well.
“I never knew that getting the vaccine in front of my staff would motivate them so much,” said Fridah Nyathi, executive director of Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mpumalanga.
While vaccine selfies send a strong message that vaccines are safe, they also have the power to spark conversation about immunization; and then some, in the case of the picture of Eastern Cape doctor Dr Adam Woodford, getting the shirtless shot, which has gone viral on social media.
Woodford, who was previously infected with Covid-19, spoke to GCIS about the experience and said he was happy to be able to get the vaccine and help stop the spread of Covid-19.
Speaking of the photos of him receiving the vaccine, he joked, “Vaccine done and dusted … So far, side effects include unintentional camera flexing and unwanted gains.”
For politicians, this social media trend can help create a dialogue with those who question the safety of the vaccine. President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize also posted their vaccine selfies.
“The vaccination was quick, easy and not that painful. I urge all of our health workers to sign up to receive their vaccines as they are our first line of defense against the coronavirus pandemic, ”Ramaphosa said captioned his vaccine selfie.
The vaccine was quick, easy, and not that painful. I urge all of our healthcare professionals to sign up to receive their vaccinations as they are our first line of defense against the coronavirus pandemic. #WeChooseVacciNation #VaccinforSouthAfrica 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/11tyl1f9Xs
– Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 #StaySafe (@CyrilRamaphosa) February 17, 2021
According to Professor Graeme Meintjes of the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine at UCT, seeing frontline healthcare workers, the President and the Minister of Health get vaccinated will go a long way in reassuring ambivalent people. about vaccination to get vaccinated. vaccinated when eligible.
Less than a week after the country launched its Covid-19 vaccination program, more than 10,000 health workers in South Africa have been vaccinated. The Department of Health said that thanks to the Sisonke Early Access program, a third of the first 80,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines would be allocated to the private sector over the next 14 days.
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