Pop-up sites and in-residential vaccination sites have now become regular features across the Western Cae as the Department of Health continues to work with communities to fight against the COVID-19 virus.
However, 61-year-old Godfrey Bolotina and his 57-year-old wife Florence Bolotina from Tafelsig have become vaccine ambassadors by offering their home as a pop-up vaccination site since early November, to ensure that they make the vaccines accessible to community members who cannot afford to travel to their nearest vaccination site in Mitchells Plain.
According to Florence also known to her community as Sister Ndumi, she opened her home for their community to easily access the vaccine after she recovered from COVID-19.
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Florence was diagnosed with COVID-19 in October she where was admitted to Mitchells Plain District Hospital’s COVID-19 ward and later transferred to the Brackengate Hospital of Hope where she went into a coma for two weeks.
“I want to tell the elderly people that this virus is not a joke, so get your vaccine to protect yourself.
“I have this happiness in my heart that the health staff from Klipfontein and Mitchells Plain are bringing the vaccination service closer to our homes and were looking for a place to set up a pop-up vaccination station, so I offered my home,” Florence said.
Her husband, Godfrey went on to say that at the time he was afraid that Florence was not going to survive and feared the call from the doctors.
“The two months she was in hospital was a difficult time for me and I asked God to help her, because if she had to die, then I think I would not have survived long without her,” Godfrey explained.
Florence also encourages the elderly who are over 50 and 60 years old to take the vaccine because they are more at risk of getting sick from COVID-19.
“The elderly are saying that they have lived their lives already, but I encourage the over 50s and 60s to take the vaccine because our loved ones still need us,” Florence reiterated.
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Picture: Facebook/Alan Winde