Johannesburg - Soweto residents, including taxi drivers and retail workers came out in their numbers on Wednesday to get vaccinated at a pop up vaccination site at the Bara taxi rank.
This comes as Gauteng government officials have ramped up their efforts to get more people in the province vaccinated.
On Tuesday, Gauteng Premier David Makhura expressed disdain that only 2.3 million residents in the province had been vaccinated, saying more people needed to be vaccinated against the virus which has claimed more than 18 000 lives in the province and over 77 000 deaths across the country.
The Gauteng Health Department said a vaccination drive at the Bara taxi rank, which was led by Transport MEC Jack Mamabolo, saw hundreds of taxi drivers, commuters and retail workers present themselves for the Covid-19 jabs.
One of those who got vaccinated was taxi driver Motlalepula Komota, 61, who took time to encourage men in particular to get vaccinated.
Mamabolo, meanwhile, said he was encouraged that more men were presenting themselves to be vaccinated.
He was briefed by officials on the ground who reported back that the majority of those who were being vaccinated at the pop-up vaccination station were men.
As of Wednesday, the Gauteng Health Department more than 1221 people had been newly infected with the virus.
It said the number of Covid-19 deaths was now at 18 200 while over 860 000 people had recovered from the virus after infection.
IOL