The elderly await vaccines

infected."

Naidoo said they hoped the vaccinations would be done at their premises, where Covid testing was previously done.

“We have a team of professional healthcare workers and a diligent and compassionate social worker to facilitate the process.

“We are negotiating with the Department of Health to have the vaccination process follow the same pattern as to when the Covid testings were done.”

Dudley Buchanan, the chief executive of Bill Buchanan Association for the Aged in Morningside, Durban, that cares for 300 people, said it was the residents’ choice if they wanted to be vaccinated.

He said the Department of Health had informed them that two of their health-care workers would be trained to assist in the vaccination process.

Buchanan said the residents and their families would be further notified once they received additional information from the department.

Popo Maja, the spokesperson for the department, said the government was ready to vaccinate as many people as possible this year.

This, he said, was so that the government could achieve population immunity. Maja said they would use an electronic vaccination data system to ensure everyone registered and was accounted for.

“People need to produce any form of a verifiable and recognised identification, like an ID, to prove that they are 60 years or older.”

He said vaccine registrations would be done electronically on the department’s website: https://vaccine.enroll. health.gov.za

“When you are done, the system will send an SMS to the phone number provided and tell you that you are registered.

“When it's your turn to be vaccinated, the system will prompt you through an SMS with a date and venue for your vaccination.

“If you put in the correct address, you will be sent to the vaccination centre that is closest to your home.”

Maja said the department was working with other government departments, including social development, the private sector and NGOs to ensure no one was left behind.

“We continue to urge those living and working with the elderly to help them with registration.

“However, the government would send out teams of community health workers to communities to assist with registrations because we understand that not everyone has access to smartphones and the internet.”