Durban - The 29 people who died shortly after receiving their Covid-19 jabs did not die because they of the vaccination, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala says.
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) confirmed that the deaths were not linked to the vaccine.
"There is no reason to worry about the safety of the Covid-19 vaccines that are being used in the country," he said.
Zikalala said Sahpra received 2 033 reports of adverse events following immunisation by certain people.
"However, most of these complaints were not serious. Sahpra then began an investigation into 29 cases of death that occurred shortly after people had received the Covid-19 vaccine.
“Up to this point, these investigations have been completed, and it has been found that these 29 deaths were not related or linked to the vaccination."
He said concerns around vaccine safety have led to a decline in the number of people seeking to be vaccinated.
"Therefore, we hope that with these findings, people will start coming back in large numbers to get vaccinated, so that we can continue with our important journey towards achieving population immunity."
Zikalala urged people to get vaccinated.
"It is entirely up to us to be like other countries, where life has gone back to normal, with Covid-19 brought under control, and no need for national lockdowns.
“I’m quite sure many people are envious of European countries that we see on TV, where people no longer wear masks, where football fans, for instance, are now able to go back and attend matches. It can also happen here if we get vaccinated."
IOL