Deshnee Achary, a student of the International Master of Vaccinology (IMVACC) class 2021, working at Pfizer vaccines in Johannesburg South Africa, received an award from the former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki and The University of South Africa Principal and Vice-Chancellor (VC), Professor Puleng LenkaBula, who honored her for the work she has done in vaccines for the past 17years.
In her thank you speech she spoke about empowerment through education, highlighting the importance of using the education for the greater of mankind “When you are educated you are empowered and encouraged, and you have the power to change your life, your community around you and most importantly you have the power to educate others.”
She also touched on the topic of vaccine resistance and hesitancy and how fake news miscommunication can lead to people making bad decisions about their health which leads to disease, increased burden on the healthcare system and increased mortality.