Ramaphosa to visit vaccine sites in Gauteng to assess progress

President Cyril Ramaphosa will visit two vaccine sites in Gauteng to assess the rollout of the government’s Covid-19 vaccination programme.

The president is expected to visit a public health facility in Tembisa in Ekurhuleni, and a private-public partnership centre in Midrand, Johannesburg.

According to the Presidency, Ramaphosa’s visit would also serve as an opportunity for government to encourage more eligible citizens to get inoculated as government ramps up its efforts to increase the country’s vaccination rate.

“Covid-19 vaccines are a safe and effective defence against serious illness, hospitalisation and death,” the presidency said in a statement.

During his address to the nation on Sunday, Ramaphosa said government was making huge strides in its vaccination drive, with more than 240,000 vaccines being administered in the country every weekday.

In June, the figure stood at around 100,000 vaccines per weekday.

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300 000 jabs target

Ramaphosa said he wanted 300 000 jabs to be received per weekday in order for the country to reach population immunity. To reach this target, the president said they would increase the number of vaccination sites as well as the rollout of vaccines on weekends.

More than seven million South Africans have been vaccinated for Covid-19, with over 10% of the population having received a vaccine dose.

The president said this was made possible by collaboration between government and the private sector and with the active support of other social partners.

The government has adopted an age based-strategy to administering vaccines, with citizens 35 years and older eligible to receive their jabs. Citizens between the ages of 18 and 34 will be vaccinated from September.

Ramaphosa said within the next two to three months, the country would receive around 31 million additional doses from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

The US government has also donated 5.7 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to South Africa. The first consignment of the vaccine is expected to arrive in the country on Saturday.

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