By Kaya 959 News
From 1 September, 18 – 34-year-olds will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, this will be in addition to the age groups that are currently eligible, which is everyone over 35 years of age.
Speaking to the country on Sunday, Ramaphosa said SA has now administered more than 6.3 million vaccines, with over 10% of the population having received a vaccine dose.
“We will now allow people between the ages of 18 and 34 to be vaccinated. This will be in addition to the age groups that are currently eligible, which is everyone over 35 years of age. We are now able to allow people to present themselves at a vaccination site without an appointment and be registered and vaccinated,” Ramaphosa said.
All people aged 35 years and above can register for vaccination #COVID19 #level3 pic.twitter.com/nikktozwd8
— National Department of Health (@HealthZA) July 25, 2021
READ: SA moving to adjusted Alert Level 3, alcohol back on sale
Ramaphosa added that the substantial increase in the rate of vaccination is made possible by improvements in the supply of vaccines.
More vaccines on the way
Within the next two to three months, SA is scheduled to receive around 31 million additional doses from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. This supply pipeline means that there will be sufficient vaccine doses available for the rest of the year.
“We have made tremendous progress in addressing the challenges we faced as a country and the continent in access to vaccines,” he said.
According to the latest from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, SA now has 2 377 823 confirmed COVID-19 cases with an increase of 9 718 new cases reported on Sunday.
Nearly 70 000 have succumbed to COVID-19-related illnesses.
The NICD said Gauteng still recorded the most number of cases, followed by the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
https://twitter.com/HealthZA/status/1419343281746481152
In his address, Ramaphosa noted that while SA has largely passed the peak of the third wave of infections, there are areas in the country where we still need to be concerned because the rates of infection have not yet shown signs of decline.
Drinking alcohol and the vaccine
While young social media users were excited to get their vaccine next month, many raised questions about whether they’ll be able to drink alcohol.
One Twitter user claimed that it is not advisable to drink alcohol before and after getting the vaccine.
“By the way, on the topic of vaccines and alcohol… it is advised that you abstain from alcohol at least 2 days before getting the vaccine and at least 3 to 4 days after getting it too,” one Twitter user said.
According to Forbes, “excessive alcohol drinking can suppress your immune system and in turn reduce the amount of protection that the COVID-19 vaccine can offer”.
However, there is not enough information available on the matter as COVID-19 clinical trials did not explicitly test the effects of alcohol consumption on the vaccine.
Health officials administrating the vaccine will provide guidelines to those getting the jab. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you are confused about anything.
