Vooma Vaccination Weekend targets half a million people for Covid jab

PEOPLE living in South Africa will on Friday and Saturday have the opportunity to get the Covid-19 jab in a nationwide mass vaccination drive hosted by the government and civil society.

The public and private health sectors, organised labour and business and community- and faith-based formations will join forces in the vaccination drive themed Vooma Vaccination Weekend, according to the Presidency.

“This will be the first Vooma Vaccination Weekend in a series of outreaches under this banner in which leadership from across the political spectrum, civil society, traditional leaders, labour and business will mobilise communities to stay safe by being vaccinated,” said acting Presidency spokesperson Tyrone Seale.

“Vaccines are safe and easy to receive. They protect people against serious illness, hospitalisation and death. And when the majority of people in the country are vaccinated, the nation will experience a greater sense of freedom and safety in social interactions and economic activity.”

Seale said vaccines are free of charge and during the Vooma Vaccination Weekend vaccination centres and points – including pop-ups – will be open all day on Friday and Saturday in different areas of the country.

“Ministers, deputy ministers, premiers, mayors, councillors and leaders from other sectors of society will be out in communities on Friday and Saturday to encourage citizens to access the peace of mind that comes with being vaccinated,” said Seale.

“Government and social partners call on South Africans and people living in the country to roll up their sleeves and ensure that at least half a million people are vaccinated this weekend, en route to achieving a national vaccination rate of 70 percent of the adult population by the end of this year.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on leaders of all sectors of society and all South Africans to seize Vooma Vaccination Weekend as an opportunity to ensure the country pushes back Covid-19 and achieves greater safety for all.

On Tuesday, South Africa reported 1,367 new Covid-19 cases and 201 deaths, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).

“Today the institute reports 1,367 new Covid-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,898,888. This increase represents a 8.6% positivity rate.

“As per the national Department of Health, a further 201 Covid-19-related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 87,417. To date 17,603,913 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors,” the NICD said.

It said the majority of new cases for Tuesday came from KwaZulu-Natal which reported 27% of new cases, followed by the Western Cape at 18%, while the Eastern Cape and Gauteng accounted for 14% each.

The Free State accounted for 12% of cases, the Northern Cape 5%, Mpumalanga and North West 4% and Limpopo for 2% of cases.