Pretoria doctor one of the first to be vaccinated

Around the same time that President Cyril Ramaphosa got his COVID-19 vaccination in Cape Town on Wednesday, 17 February 2021, an unassuming Jewish doctor was one of the very first healthcare workers to receive the jab, and possibly the very first Jewish doctor in the country to do so.

“At last! I was very anxious to get it,” Dr Darren Joseph told the SA Jewish Report. He is a special physician in the department of internal medicine at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria, and is also a pulmonology fellow.

Joseph has been at the frontline of the COVID-19 war, and has lost colleagues, including a matron in his ward who passed away from COVID-19 this week. He also assisted the Jaffa Jewish Aged Home during its COVID-19 outbreak.

The first 80 000 Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines arrived in South Africa on 17 February, but Joseph never expected to get his dose so soon.

“It was quite a surprise. We knew the hospital was preparing to begin vaccination, but today it asked for a few volunteers to take part in a ‘trial run’, and I was third in line. It’s exactly like any other vaccination, it’s not painful. It was a very pleasant experience, and everyone cheered!”

Other healthcare workers can’t wait for their turn. “We are thrilled. We have the champagne ready!” says Johannesburg general practitioner (GP) Dr Sheri Fanaroff, who has a preliminary slot booked for her COVID-19 vaccination at 15:00 this Sunday, 21 February.

GPs have been able to book preliminary time slots to have the injection at government hospitals, but not all healthcare workers have been able to do so yet. The GPs will also have to wait for confirmation of their appointments, but if all goes to plan, Fanaroff will also be vaccinated at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in a few days’ time.

“I don’t know many doctors who have turned it down. We are happy that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is only one dose, and the studies look encouraging,” she says. “It will allay a lot of anxiety about the chance of severe illness and hospitalisation. But we will still be wearing masks and taking precautions, as will anyone who gets vaccinated, until the country is able to reach herd immunity.”

Dr Mark Kadish, a GP in Johannesburg, looked back at how far we have come and what this moment means. “At the end of 2020, we were faced with a second wave of COVID-19. As doctors, we were overwhelmed and struggled to maintain our bearings. We are exhausted physically and emotionally, as we find ourselves in yet another whole new world. In addition, there is a pandemic of mental-health issues related to COVID-19.

“The broader picture encompasses our support staff, who themselves are swamped and exhausted,” he continues. “As I contemplate receiving the vaccine, I have a great sense of relief, but at the same time, I have a sense of guilt as it’s essential for the elderly, immune-comprised, support staff, and the broader community to be vaccinated.”

Johannesburg GP Dr Daniel Israel is also waiting for confirmation of his preliminary slot on Sunday. “It’s all happening, and it feels good. At the end of the day, there’s still some uncertainty as this round of vaccines is happening in the framework of a trial. But we know it’s safe, and I feel reassured that the Johnson & Johnson results show that it protects against serious disease, especially because we are exposed to COVID-19 every day.”

Dr Orit Laskov and Dr Sol Lison, both GPs in Cape Town, have preliminary slots booked for Sunday at Groote Schuur Hospital. “The idea of being vaccinated makes me feel really excited and optimistic. It feels like a light at the end of the tunnel but not ‘the’ light, as we aren’t out of the woods yet,” says Laskov. “It will help me feel slightly less anxious about treating positive patients. I have confidence in the government’s response to this. It’s moving in the right direction.”

Says Lison, who is in his 70s, “I have been terrified of COVID-19 because of my co-morbidities, so I’m prepared to have the vaccine and see how I go. It has been quite a battle to try and get by. I will still wear a mask and take other precautions, but it’s good to know that the vaccine prevents severe disease.”

Dr Evan Shoul, an infectious disease specialist at Netcare Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg who works in a COVID-19 ward, hasn’t yet been able to book a slot, but says, “It’s really exciting and will change things quite radically for us. We are all absolutely thrilled at the prospect of getting the vaccine. Lots of medical staff have been exposed to a year of traumatic experiences, so it’s wonderful to have something promising in our midst.”

For Professor Barry Schoub, the chairperson of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 vaccines, it’s a big moment. “I feel positive about the vaccine rollout now that the first batch of vaccines has arrived for healthcare workers. They have worked exceedingly hard under tremendous pressure, and I’m delighted that they will now be afforded the means of protecting themselves with a very safe and effective vaccine,” he says.

“This is the first rung of a very challenging ladder. It will certainly tax our healthcare resources to the maximum to vaccinate and achieve the goal of reaching the desired level for herd immunity. Yes, there will undoubtedly be hitches along the way, but I’m quietly confident that the goal will be reached, hopefully by early next year. I feel we owe the health minister our gratitude for his extraordinary hard work and the devotion he has shown in securing vaccines for the country.”

Professor Efraim Kramer says that as a frontline healthcare worker in an emergency department, he registered within hours of the electronic vaccinating system going live.

“I’m 67, have hypertension, and therefore have always been at high risk. During the first wave, 12 out of 14 of the doctors in our department contracted COVID-19, and five have contracted it during the second wave thus far. Receiving the vaccine would potentially take me out of the severe/fatal COVID-19 risk category. I don’t have a date or time, but my hospital, Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital, is the designated COVID-19 vaccine administration centre for the south eastern region, and I have no doubt that’s where I will get my jab with the rest of my medical team. How do I feel? Like a little boy waiting for a big present that’s coming soon … counting how many sleeps.”