DURBAN -THE KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has urged teachers who have not been vaccinated to do so by Thursday.
The last day of vaccination in the province is July 8, said the department’s spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi on Tuesday morning.
The Department said teachers and supporting staff who have travelled from one district to another within the province can still vaccinate at a vaccination centre near their homes.
The Education Department in KZN launched its campaign a few weeks ago and was aiming to vaccinate more than a 100 000 teachers and non-teaching staff in a matter of weeks.
However, the drive to vaccinate teachers has faced challenges, among them grinding to a halt for a day when vaccine doses ran out.
Schools then closed soon after level 4 lockdown was announced, which meant thousands of teachers, some of who work far from their homes, travelled back to their homes and many of them were not vaccinated.
Mahlambi said: “The department of education in KwaZulu-Natal urges all educators and non-teaching staff who had not had their chance to vaccinate to go to any vaccination site and get their jabs.
“This we are emphasising as the last day of vaccination for the education sector is on July 8, this coming Thursday.
“Please go to any vaccination site near you. We know that schools are now closed and some of you might have been displaced by that fact that you are no longer in your working districts, circuits and schools, but the Department of Health has allowed that you can go to any vaccination site near you to go and get your jab.
“We are pleading with all people who are working at the schools to go and vaccinate,” said Mahlambi.
The national Department of Basic Education said it had received an additional 289 000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“These additional doses enable the sector to reach its overall target of vaccinating 582 564 educators and non educators, said Mahlambi.
Teachers and supporting staff are requested to bring their ID documents to the vaccination site.
THE MERCURY