Get your vaccination the public or private route
Residents who opt not to go for their vaccinations against Covid-19 at a state facility can visit private hospitals and pharmacies across the country for the same purpose.
POLOKWANE -Both private hospitals in the city, however, confirmed that they are not yet offering this service.
Only Clicks currently offers vaccinations in Polokwane aside from government institutions. The vaccination protocol for private vaccinations are similar for the various medical schemes.
According to Momentum Medical Scheme guidelines vaccinations are procured from two suppliers, namely Johnson&Johnson and Pfizer. CEO and principal officer, Toni van den Bergh says they have been advised by the National Department of Health that it has 51 million doses for the South African vaccine rollout programme. The delivery of these vaccines is expected during the remainder of the year due to the international demand for vaccines. He says those who want to be vaccinated will not have the option of which vaccine to receive, as this will depend on availability at the time of one’s vaccination.
“The vaccination sites’ cold storage capability will also play a role in terms of which vaccine is offered as these are stored at different storage temperatures. When you go for your vaccine at your allocated vaccination centre, you will be informed which vaccine you will be receiving, whether you need a second dose and when to revisit the centre for you to receive it, if applicable,” information on the Momentum website reads. According to Van den Bergh everybody, irrespective of whether you have private healthcare cover or not, needs to register on the government’s Electronic Vaccine Data System (EVDS) before you may receive your vaccine.
“Once you have registered on the EVDS, you will receive an SMS confirming your registration and depending on your eligibility in terms of the rollout programme, will be issued with a vaccine code and information on when and where to go for your vaccination. Please note that you will not be able to receive your vaccination without the vaccine code.”
He says as soon as more vaccination sites open up, they will reflect on the EVDS for you to choose as your vaccination centre when you register. When it is your turn to be vaccinated, you will receive an SMS from the EVDS, informing you of the date when you need to go for your vaccination, as well as the details of the vaccination centre you need to go to. If you are with a participating medical scheme the cost of your vaccination and the applicable administration cost will be fully covered by the scheme.
