Department of Health says 29 per cent of frontliners have received the vaccine

About 14 884 frontline healthcare workers have received the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine in Mpumalanga.

According to Dumisani Malamule, the spokesperson for Department of Health (DoH), this is 29 per cent of the frontliners who are to be vaccinated in the first phase.

“This number includes both private and public workers. The province has been allocated 16 698 doses of vaccine,” he said.

“So far, the programme is running smoothly and the numbers reported are determined by the number of allocated doses to the province,” he explained. Last month, Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane said, “We are targeting to vaccinate 69 653 healthcare workers during the first phase, which is currently under way.”

On March 16, the department said a total of 9 472 healthcare workers had received the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.

Malamule said the vaccines will be transported from national and delivered straight to the provincial medical depot. “Distribution from the provincial medical depot to the respective 33 hospitals in Mpumalanga will follow based on their target set,” he said.

Phase two will include 2 500 000 essential workers, as well as 1 100 000 persons in congregated settings, 5 000 000 people 60 years and older, and 8 000 000 people older than 18 years with comorbidities. It is divided into three platforms: work-based vaccinations, outreach-based vaccinations and vaccination centres.

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Essential workers are listed as police officers, miners and workers in security, retail, food production, funeral, teachers, banking, essential municipal and home affairs, border control and port health services.

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People with comorbidities are persons living with uncontrolled diabetes, chronic lung diseases, poorly controlled cardiovascular diseases, renal diseases, HIV, tuberculosis and obesity. Congregated settings include care homes, detention centres, shelters and prisons. Phase three will consist of 22 500 000 other people 18 years and older.