By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Department of Health will launch a ‘Vooma week’ from 3 – 10 December as part of a bid to vaccinate a further million people ahead of the festive break.
During this week, all provinces have been requested to increase the number of vaccination sites, especially in travel hubs, shopping malls, and recreational areas, as the country faces a potential fourth wave of Covid-19 infections.
The department said that there are still four million people aged 50 years and older who have not come forward for vaccination, with these South Africans facing the highest risk of severe illness and death. However, it noted that young people are still at risk and currently account for 40% of hospital admissions.
“We want families to be safe this festive season,” said minister of health Joe Phaahla. “Before you go home, before you leave on vacation, make sure to protect yourself and those you love. If you visit your parents and they have not yet been vaccinated, go with them to the nearest vaccination site.”
The department said that several activities would support the Vooma week, such as additional incentives for vaccinating people. These include:
- Vooma vouchers of R200 for people aged 50 years or older who come for their first vaccination;
- A lucky draw with hundreds of cash prizes of R1,000, R10,000 and R100,000 for everyone who has received at least one vaccination by the end of the year.
South Africa recorded 8,561 infections on Wednesday, compared with 4,373 a day earlier, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
Scientific modelling shows Gauteng is likely to see a peak in its fourth wave of infections in the second and third week of December ahead of the festive season, says premier David Makhura.
In a media briefing on Thursday (2 December), Makhura said that this does not mean that infections will necessarily subside at this date, but it might take a longer time for infections to drop and that the wave could continue into Christmas and January. He said that hospitalisations are also expected to lag this peak and that more admissions could be seen later in December.
The premier said the province has seen a significant uptake in vaccinations since discovering the omicron variant, with the province setting a target of 500,000 more vaccinated people by Christmas.
Makhura said the increase in vaccine uptake was very positive and would be a key differentiator in how severe the country’s fourth Covid-19 wave is, the introduction of lockdown restrictions and the decision to introduce mandatory vaccines.
“The good news is that we are back to above 50,000 vaccinations a day. We had fallen below 30 000 vaccinations a day in the past few weeks. If we sustain 50 000 vaccinations daily during this period & into the festive season, we will be closer to reaching our target,” he said.
“We have eight million adults who are not vaccinated, and this is cause for concern. We want to persuade more people to take responsibility for their health by getting vaccinated. Once we have tried all options, we will consider mandatory vaccinations.”
Makhura said that the key differentiation between the country’s second wave in December 2020 and now is that South Africa has a vaccine supply available to everyone.