Vaccination: Now’s the time to go, while Covid-19 numbers are low!

NATIONAL NEWS - The national department of health urges people living in South Africa to get ahead of the next Covid-19 wave by vaccinating now.

“Covid-19 infections are low at the moment, but the next storm is approaching. Don’t get caught in the storm without protection,” the department says.

This follows this past weekend’s Vooma Vaccination drive. “Paper-based records still need to be included, but daily EVDS records show that a total of 263 465 people were vaccinated from Friday November 12 to Sunday November 14.”

This represents 53% of the target of 500 000 vaccinations over this three-day period. “While the target of half a million is ambitious, it represents the number of vaccinations tht should be achieved to achieve the year-end targets of 85% first-dose coverage of people 50+ and 65% of those younger than 50,” the department says.

Once the majority of the population is fully immunised, the risk of exposure and contraction will be limited and the Covid-19 infection rate will be curbed. This will help enable the economy to recover and save those businesses that will not survive another lockdown.

There is no need to pre-book or to wait for an SMS after registering for your vaccine – simply walk into any vaccination site. Don’t forget to take along valid identification (ID, birth certificate, foreign passport or asylum/refugee number).

You can even go to a vaccination site if you have not registered, and you will be assisted to register at the site. Be warned, however, that it will take longer than if you had pre-registered.

If you have any questions, call the COVID-19 hotline on 0800 029 999.