SA reaches vaccine milestone, administers most vaccines in a single day

IT SEEMS that SA’s vaccination programme is starting to pick up pace. On Monday, a total of 137,367 vaccines were administered, the highest since the vaccination programme started nearly three months ago.

Deputy director-general in the Health Department Dr Nicholas Crisp said the target for the coming days is to reach 150,000 vaccines per day.

“More than 100,000 people have been vaccinated per day in the last two days, and the target for next week is 150,000 a day. The aim for mid-July was 200,000 and 250,000 by the end of the month. The president has asked us to chase a target of 300,000 a day,” he said.

Gauteng, which has been battered by a severe third wave, administered over 30,000 vaccines, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 28,042 and the Western Cape at 25,040.

So far, nearly 3.5 million vaccinations have been administered using either the one-shot Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine or the two-shot Pfizer alternative, out of a population of 60 million people.

Meanwhile, the Department of Basic Education also achieved its target of vaccinating 300,000 teachers and support staff within 10 days, with more than 333,000 teachers and support staff vaccinated since June 23.

The department has also received an additional 289,000 doses of the J&J vaccine, which will enable the sector to reach its overall target of vaccinating 582,564 educators and non-teaching staff.

In addition, support staff from independent schools, food handlers, screeners, cleaners and ECD practitioners will be vaccinated. The roll-out plan is expected to continue until July 8.