By Kaya 959 News
Phase 2 of the government’s vaccine roll-out plan gets underway on Monday. Phase 2 is open for those who are 65 and older and those with comorbidities.
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced the end of the Sisonke Programme on Sunday night. The programme has vaccinated 478 733 healthcare workers.
He said the programme received half a million doses and the remainder of the doses will not be used for Phase 2.
“They will be used by the Medical Research Council to conduct important studies and programmes that will help us to understand how the vaccines work for population groups such as persons living with HIV and other co-morbidities, elite athletes, pregnant and lactating women and other special groups,” Mkhize said.
Pfizer doses land in SA
At midnight, a further 325 260 Pfizer doses landed in SA. This brings to date a total of 975 780 vaccines.
“We will continue to vaccinate healthcare workers, and complete the targeted 1,2 million by the end of the week. We will also begin to vaccinate citizens 60 years and older, who are the most vulnerable for becoming ill or dying of Covid-19,” Mkhize said.
He said the government hopes to vaccinate 5m senior citizens by the end of June, provided that the supply of vaccines flow as anticipated.
“By the end of June we expect to have received 4,5m doses of Pfizer and 2m doses of JnJ once released,” he said.
J&J vaccine update
Mkhize said the J&J vaccine is still awaiting release from the Food and Drug Administration of America.
“We are constantly being updated by the J&J global head office on progress in this regard. We hope to get finality this week,” he said.
The roll-out of the Pfizer vaccines will take place across 87 sites; 83 in the public sector and 4 in the private sector.
Mkhize said more than 1m senior citizens and 914 000 healthcare workers have registered on the EVDS portal.
He said the Pfizer vaccines are safe and work well, even against the variant that is dominant in this country.
“After 14 days, one starts to show markers of immunity. There is now very good literature to show that the interval between doses can be increased to six weeks and in the UK they showed good results after three months,” he said.
COVID-19 hotline
Mkhize said the department is getting advice from experts on the best interval. Citizens must present on the date they are given for the second dose.
Many people have mild symptoms after vaccination. These include flu-like symptoms like mild fever, headache and tiredness, as well as redness, swelling and pain at the injection site. These generally disappear within one to two days, and can be managed at home with rest and paracetamol.
“If you have more serious symptoms such as severe headache, severe abdominal pain or severe limb pain you should phone our Covid hotline, 0800 029 999 for advice, or seek care at your local clinic or hospital,” he said.
He said the vaccine will protect people from getting severe Covid disease or dying from it.
Five ways to register on EVDS
– online at www.vaccine.enroll.gov.za
– using the whatsapp line 0600 123456
– by sms- dial *134*832#
– call the COVID-19 hotline 0800 029 999
– You can use the new QR- simply scan and follow the prompts.
The QR code will be published widely and can be found on sacoronavirus website or the National Department of Health Website. All services are zero rated- that is you don’t need airtime, data or money to use the services.
