No deterring people from registering for vaccine
MORE than 20 000 South Africans have registered for the second phase of the vaccination rollout plan since the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) opened to the public on Friday.
Vaccination for people over 60-years-old had been expected to start in May and run until the end of July.
There will be 3 000 vaccination sites which will include doctor’s rooms, pharmacy clinics, travel clinics, nursing homes and frail care centres.
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said the launch of the registration website marked a significant milestone not only for the Covid-19 campaign but also for the country’s advancement towards universal health coverage.
“The president, myself as the minister of health, hundreds of thousands of health care workers and now you the citizens of South Africa, have or will all access the vaccines through the same process by enlisting using this system. There will be no distinction between private and state health care users, with the exception that private health care users will input their medical aid details,” said Mkhize. “The quality of services will be the same for all of us and the system will assign a vaccination site closest to our
homes or where we work – not based on whether a particular site is a public or private facility.”
Mkhize said those who did not have smartphones should not fret as teams had been assembled and trained and would be going into communities to assist the elderly, homeless and those in deep rural areas with access to technology. He said the Health Department would soon be adding a Whatsapp service that will allow people to register.
“If you are unable to register by these methods, you may simply go to the nearest vaccination centre and we will register you on the spot. If you are 60 years or above we will also vaccinate you at the same time,” he said.