It’s Vooma time! Push to get 70% of South Africans vaccinated starts now

“We can save 20,000 lives if we vaccinate 70% of adults by the end of the year.”

This is the message the South African government is promoting via its Vooma drive, which aims to vaccinate 17 million more adults by December.

To reach this goal, President Cyril Ramaphosa is calling on leaders in South Africa to intensify their support for the Covid-19 vaccine programme by getting behind the Vooma Vaccination Weekends, a mass vaccination drive by government and civil society, during which all public vaccination sites as well as additional pop-up ones will open for the weekend.

The first one will be held this weekend (1-3 October 2021) with the aim of vaccinating half a million people. All South Africans and those living in South Africa are invited to get vaccinated this weekend and leaders across the country are urged to encourage those they lead to do so.

“Vooma” is a South Africanism derived from the Afrikaans word “woema” meaning “energy and speed”. It also resembles the Nguni word “vuma” meaning “agree”. The government hopes to achieve agreement to move with energy and speed to ensure that 70% of adults are vaccinated by Christmas.

The public and private healthcare sectors, organised labour and business as well as community and faith-based formations will take part in the initiative. Among them, ministers, deputy ministers, premiers, mayors, councillors and leaders from other sectors will be visiting communities on Friday and Saturday.

“We believe that people will come forward to be vaccinated if they hear the message from people they trust, who can reassure them and take away some of their anxieties and provide them with factual information,” says government.

Ramaphosa also sees Vooma Vaccination Weekend initiatives as platforms for the nation to honour the efforts of frontline health workers and health service managers, as well as volunteers and other support personnel.

Approximately 30% of adults in South Africa have now received at least one dose of vaccine against Covid-19. However, a fourth wave of Covid-19 is expected to hit the country towards the end of the year.

Vaccination is free to everyone living in South Africa and available at government health facilities or private pharmacies that offer vaccinations, with or without a medical aid. South Africans over 18 can now get vaccinated without waiting for an SMS to confirm a date or site.

Government reminds the public that even when vaccinated, the wearing of masks, frequent washing of hands, keeping a safe distance from others and observing the regulations that apply under the national state of disaster, still apply.

For enquiries, call the toll-free Covid-19 hotline on 0800-029-999.