Elderly turned away at vaccination stations
Despite the confusion and lack of communication between the Department of Health and the general masses on the roll-out of the vaccination dates and venues, the MEC for this department, Sasekani Manzini, believes they are off to a great start to roll out phase 2 of this programme.
Last week, elderly citizens who had hoped to receive the Covid-19 vaccination were turned back from hospitals such as Rob
Ferreira, Themba and Shongwe, apparently due to a lack of vaccine doses.
And at the time of going to press, the department had not responded as to when the province would receive its share of the
doses.
READ:First phase of Covid-19 vaccine is underway
In phase 2, which officially began on Monday, over 300 000 senior citizens in the province were prioritised for vaccination.
Electronic registration for everyone who wished to receive vaccines was officially opened from April 16.
Manzini spoke after the official launch of the second phase of vaccinations in Botleng.
“We are deeply humbled by the number of elderly people who turned up to be vaccinated on the first day. You can tell that they are excited that they will finally get to be vaccinated and be safe,” said Manzini.
“We have however, cautioned them to always lead a healthy lifestyle, because it doesn’t mean that when vaccinated, they are
immune to death. They must always protect themselves and those around them.
READ: Mpumalanga to receive Covid-19 vaccine tomorrow
“As a province, we are looking to vaccinate at least 5 900 per day, and of course this will also be guided by the number of doses that we will receive from national,” she stressed.
The province currently has 37 000 registered individuals, a number which Manzini said must increase. “We are going to make sure that we increase numbers. We are calling on the community to assist us.”
