Cape Town - The vaccine rollout in the Western Cape continues to forge ahead with the province receiving 5 300 more doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine over the weekend.
The vaccine doses, which were supplied through the Sisonke implementation study, is the first delivery of the third tranche with two more deliveries expected this weekend.
The Western Cape Health Department said the intent of the vaccination rollout was to prevent severe illness and death and to protect the health system.
Healthcare workers are being targeted first during phase 1 to ensure the province is able to vaccinate the most at risk healthcare workers first and guarantee readiness for a third wave.
“To date, the Western Cape received 31 260 vaccines and have vaccinated 27 570 healthcare workers in the province – utilising 88% of its allocated quantity since the start of the vaccination rollout during phase 1.
“As more vaccines arrive, more vaccination sites will be opened. Karl Bremer Hospital has vaccinated its full quantity and has since been replaced by Mitchell’s Plain Hospital as a vaccination site,” the department said.
There are currently eight vaccination sites across the province. They are Groote Schuur Hospital, Tygerberg Hospital, Khayelitsha District Hospital, Mitchell’s Plain Hospital, Gatesville Melomed Hospital, Worcester Hospital, Paarl Hospital and George Hospital.
March 16 marked the first day of vaccinations at Mitchell’s Plain Hospital, with the vaccination of 169 healthcare workers on the first day.
The department said many staff members were eager to be trained as vaccinators with 3 947 healthcare workers having registered for vaccinator training, and 2 054 having already completed it.
Due to a limited number of vaccines currently available, the department uses sequencing for equitable access, so that healthcare workers most vulnerable and most at risk are vaccinated first.
“We commit to continue with vaccination so that all healthcare workers who are willing to be vaccinated get vaccinated,” the department said.
The department said depending on vaccine allocations, the continued rollout of phase 1 healthcare worker vaccinations should be complete by end of April.
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