Helping the elderly get COVID-19 vaccinations

To promote the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among the elderly, UNICEF ran a volunteer-led campaign called #Grandkids4Gogos with funding support from Heartlines and the Oak Foundation.

The campaign enrolled volunteers to help people over the age of 50 register for their COVID-19 vaccine. As a result of the #Grandkids4Gogos initiative, 16 753 people were registered for the vaccine and over 25 000 people were provided with reliable information about the vaccine.

The volunteer groups ran monthly activations outside SASSA pay points where they provided information about how and where to access vaccines.

Volunteers in Mahikeng also successfully ran a door-to-door campaign to help elderly residents in their communities register for the vaccine and get more information about it.

Marketing collateral including t-shirts, caps and flyers was also produced to help increase awareness about the campaign and the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine for helping to keep elderly people safe and healthy.

Between October 2021 and March 2022 the campaign rallied 538 volunteers who collectively spent 86 080 hours volunteering towards the cause. Around 240 of these volunteers were new UNICEF volunteers who signed up through its online volunteering platform.

As the campaign progressed, volunteers also saw a need to increase communication efforts among younger age groups and adjusted messaging and activation sites will be included in future phases of UNICEF’s work to help promote vaccine uptake in South Africa.

Watch Julian's story of registering his grandmother for the vaccine through the #Grandkids4Gogos campaign: