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SOUTH Africa is preparing to move to phase 2 of the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out programme, which will see the vaccination of essential workers, persons in congregate settings, persons over 60 years and persons over 18 years with co-morbidities getting their shots.
Phase 2 is expected to begin in mid-May and run until October, with the Department of Health announcing on Friday that South Africans will be able to register electronically on the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) on April 16.
Once registration is open, the public will be able to make use of the online portal to self-register for the vaccine using a South African ID number or passport; however, the portal highlights certain points, saying that self-registration does not guarantee a vaccination as eligibility will be determined by the national Department of Health based on priority population groups.
Phase 2 of the vaccination programme aims to vaccinate more people than the first phase and the government aims to provide over 2,000 additional vaccination sites to ensure and support the roll-out plan.
“In setting up our objective of vaccination sites, the objective is to cover the entire population with best possible access, but without proliferating and having too many vaccination sites which then stand idle,” said Dr Lesley Bamford, the department’s chief director.
Once the Department of Health deems a person eligible for a vaccine after they have registered, they will receive an SMS with all the needed information in order to proceed.
On the day of vaccination, people will be screened for Covid-19. If they display symptoms they will not be vaccinated and will rather be referred for testing, but will be given an opportunity to be vaccinated at a later stage.
If a person passes the Covid-19 screening, the next step would be verifying their identity: “The person’s registration needs to be validated, people do require some form of identification such as an ID card or equivalent; and people who are on medical aid are requested to bring proof of their medical aid membership,” said Bamford, stressing that no form of payment will be needed to proceed with vaccinations as they are entirely free.
After vaccination, the person will receive an SMS to confirm that they have been vaccinated, and if a second dose is required, the SMS will contain the date for receiving the second dose.