Needless to say, 1 Discovery Place in Sandton has set the benchmark for Covid-19 vaccination sites.
The Sandton landmark recently converted a section of its building to help aid phase two of the country’s vaccination roll-out sites. Much like many other sites, the company is administering the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine currently being distributed by the government.
With the building operating at just 10 per cent capacity on account of the lockdown, Discovery Health CEO Dr. Ryan Noach noted that the site has more than adequate space and resources to ensure that the site operated efficiently and effectively.
The Sandton Chronicle took a comprehensive tour of the fully operational site on 27 May, beginning at the very first step of the journey at the car park (for motorists) or the reception area (for pedestrians) right up to the observation room, before vaccinated individuals are allowed to proceed home.
“It is quite a big operation, we vaccinate on average 2 300 people a day. Everything is very clearly marked to guide people throughout the building,” said Discovery Health COO Dr Ronald Whelan.
By 27 May, the site had already administered more than 11 000 vaccines.
Whelan added that the site operated solely on the Department of Health’s electronic vaccination data system (EVDS) which members of the community could register on.
Discovery had no control over the system or the schedule, said Whelan. “The system schedules two-hour slots every single day, allocating 550 people per slot. That allows us to manage the queues because you can imagine what it would look like if everyone just showed up at 8am every morning.”
He added that the two-hour slots also allowed the facility to better prep for the day ahead. “Once vile containing the vaccine has been brought out of the freezer and thawed, you generally have about six hours to administer the vaccine. Because we have two-hour slots available, we work on a four-hour timeline giving us more than enough time to administer each dose.”
Patients are expected to return for their second jab after the newly recommended three-month interval.
Discovery hopes to keep the site open for the continuation of the vaccination process until every South Africa has been vaccinated. “It is a continuous learning curve on every level,” Noach concluded.
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