'I remember thinking I’m next': Initially sceptical health activist urges SA to get vaccinated

• A community health activist and former journalist has urged everyone to vaccinate.
• Kanya Ndaki spent several weeks in hospital, followed by six weeks of in home care.
• Only 20% of the adult population has received a vaccine dose.

"If the vaccine can prevent me from dying, I will take it," says Kanya Ndaki, former journalist and community health activist from Johannesburg. 

In January, Ndaki visited death's door, as she lay battling to breathe in ICU, convinced Covid-19 would kill her like it did the person in the bed next to her.

Ndaki joined a digital briefing held by the Department of Health of Friday, in which she described her experience of Covid-19, in the hopes that it would encourage others to get vaccinated.

The vaccination programme opened to everyone older than 18 on Friday.

Ndaki fell ill in December, but was positive she could manage the disease at home. However, on the fifth day, her oxygen levels dropped to just above 70%. Her family doctor insisted she rush to hospital, while frantically trying to secure Ndaki a bed.

She and her sister – who had driven her to the hospital despite also having Covid-19 – waited in the parking lot for hours, because there was no bed for her.

"That’s when the panic started setting in. That’s when I realised this thing is serious and I might not make it," she said.

After being admitted, Ndaki’s condition worsened, and she was moved into ICU.

While in ICU, the man in the bed next to her died.

"In that moment I realised I could be next. ICU was a terrible experience. It was cold and lonely. I was disconnected from everything, my family. I was worried if my daughter was OK, and my mom. I wondered if I was going to make it," she said.

"I remember the nurses telling me: 'You've got to fight. You’re not doing well, you’re not improving. You've got to fight" And I remember lying and just thinking: 'I’m next'."

Long road to recovery

Even though Ndaki recovered and was discharged, she spent almost six weeks connected to oxygen at home.

"I could barely walk around, I had physio every other day. The road to recovery was long, it was difficult, and it was lonely. There was stigma. People didn’t come to see me… I just remember feeling afraid, even after recovering from Covid because getting back to normal was taking such a long time."

Even though she had recovered from Covid-19, and seen first-hand the effects on her family, Ndaki was initially sceptical about getting a vaccine.

Teaching moment

"I was not really confident or sure about getting a vaccine. I had Covid, I almost died, so I thought: 'What’s the point of getting a vaccine? Other people need it more than I do'."

Her colleagues tried to persuade her, but it was ultimately her 10-year-old daughter who encouraged her to get the jab.

"My daughter reminded me about how I nearly died, and I used that as a teaching moment," she said.

"I don’t want to go through that experience again. For me, it’s about having a chance at living. That’s why I encourage anyone to have a vaccine."

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