Compulsory Vaccination For Students On The Cards

There are now discussions happening about making the vaccination students compulsory. So far, South Africa has administered millions of vaccines to South Africans, a large number being that of the youth.

Higher Health CEO, Ramneek Ahluwalia, has said that their are ongoing discussions about ensuring safety at universities and college level.

The discussions are said to be aiming at making vaccination of university and college students compulsory before attending classes. 

What we are trying to do right now is speaking to every young person to convince them that vaccines will save South Africa. 

About 17 universities have been accredited as vaccination sites together with 22 TVET colleges which have also been identified as vaccination points in the country. 

These vaccination points don’t necessary store the vaccines or have vaccine storages, vaccines are transported on a daily basis to the vaccination point, said Higher Health CEO. 

Ahluwalia however said that its still early stages to confirm whether students will be told to vaccinate before attending classes as discussions are ongoing.

If the pressure of vaccination becomes too harsh to bear, the organisation could look at several options which include incentivisation of the students, added Higher Health CEO. 

Higher Health has also stressed the importance of giving people enough time to think about their vaccination proposal though it appears to be a race against time.

In order to open our economy and institutions, like other countries in Europe, it's important for the country to get to the level of herd immunity, Ahluwalia explained. 

Higher Health said the decision about vaccinations in higher education institutions can be expected to take maturity in two months time. 

The organisation however indicated the importance of taking the vaccine while also ensuring that people’s rights are respected.