More than 110 000 vaccines allocated to educators

MORE than 360 000 people have received Covid-19 vaccinations in KwaZulu-Natal and a further 110 400 vaccines have been allocated to educators who will be receiving the vaccine from Wednesday, 9 June. This is according to KZN premier Sihle Zikalala who spoke at a media briefing at Archie Gumede Conference Centre in Mayville on Sunday, 6 June.

“From our 124 vaccination sites so far created in the public sector, and 18 in the private sector, we have managed to vaccinate a total of 360 451 people in the province. This is made up of 237 195 senior citizens aged 60 and above, and 123 256 health workers,” said Zikalala.

According to Zikalala, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health will be opening a further 21 new vaccination sites this week, to accommodate educators, who will be getting vaccinated from Wednesday.

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“We will be receiving 110400 J&J vaccines for this category. We already have a database for these educators, which should make their vaccination easier. These educators will be guided by management in their respective districts and circuits, regarding which sites to go to, in order to get vaccinated. Some districts will open new sites, where sites don’t already exist; while others will have to designate their existing sites accordingly, to accommodate the teachers. We’re also exploring the possibility of opening these vaccination sites on weekends, because educators work Monday to Friday,” he said.

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Zikalala expressed concerns over high infection rates at schools. “On Friday, 4 June one school under Umzinyathi District reported 16 positive cases of learners. Another school under Uthukela District reported 15 positive cases of learners.

“The Department of Education will continue to implement Covid-19 protocols and to provide necessary PPE, and other forms of support,” he said.

“The latest information we have gathered over the last 24 hours is that KZN has recorded 227 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed Covid–19 cases to 340 586. Sadly, we have lost 10 534 people as a province,” added Zikalala.

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