August 23, 2021

South Africa: President Praises Vaccinated Youth

South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has praised the youth of the nation for their enthusiasm in joining the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine programme.

On Friday, 20 August, over 500 000 South Africans – aged between 18 and 34 years of age – registered to receive the COVID-19 jab.

In his weekly letter on Monday, 23 August, the 68-year-old statesman shared his “great pride” in the youth.

Ramaphosa wrote: “Young people are turning out in impressive numbers to get the COVID-19 vaccine. This fills me with great pride … The young people of our country are giving us all hope that an end to this time of hardship is within our sights.”

He added: “The maturity that young people have brought to the important task of vaccinating as many South Africans as possible calls to mind the words of Frantz Fanon, that it is to each generation to discover its mission and fulfil it.”

So far, South Africa has seen 10 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson or Pfizer vaccine administered across its nine provinces.

To date, the country has seen 2 690 973 confirmed cases of the virus; the total number of people who have recovered stands at 2 444 409, while 79 421 people have died.

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