Residents from old age homes cannot wait to get their turn to be vaccinated. The country has started with its vaccine roll out program, wherein more than 200 000 health care workers have been vaccinated since February.
The senior citizens, those with underlying sickness and frontline workers will follow when government finish vaccinating health care workers.
Pensioners complain that their lives have not been the same since outbreak of the coronavirus and following President Cyril Ramaphosa declaring the national state of disaster in March last year. They say many changes have taken place.
According to the Social Worker, Khutsi Ledwaba, who was one the officials that interacted with the elderly daily said since the lock down started, life is no longer the same in the centre, things have changed for everyone. Pensioners are like kids; they want to play. When they wake up in the morning, after bathing and eating their breakfast they want to start their daily activities. Now they are no longer interacting with their friends, not going to the gym, practice in the choir, play games, dance and attend church,"
Ledwaba added that a majority of them miss their families and going out to shopping malls especially those who are staying in cottages because they had access to pass out, but since the outbreak of the pandemic, they are not allowed to leave the centre and can only submit their shopping lists to drivers to go buy for them.
Even though the centre allows them to interact with their families at the gate in keeping with social distancing regulation and permitting them to attend family gatherings such as funerals, they are still complaining, saying that it is not enough.
The elderly residents at the Soweto Old Age Home, in Central Western Jabavu, are now pinning their hopes on vaccine roll out. They say they are ready to get a vaccine; this came out during an awareness campaign at the centre conducted by the Gauteng Department of Social Development, Social Workers and Nurses who spend time with them, to teach them about the vaccine.
"They are like children, they want to be hugged and kissed by their children and grand-children which are impossible for now. They are all excited about the vaccine because they say the vaccine will return their freedom and be able to interact with their friends, go back to their daily activities. As a Social Worker I can see that something is missing since the lock down" she says.
Four deaths have been recorded at the centre since the outbreak of the pandemic, these fatalities have created a lot of anxiety to their peers.
"We have seen people die and that has made to move because you to be more cautious. We make sure that we always wear our masks every day because we are scared to get infected. I miss choir festivals and travelling to other provinces with my friends where we used to support each other, I'll be the first in the queue to get my jab" recount an elderly at the home.