Vaccination rollout programme in the Eastern Cape province is progressing smoothly though a bit slow, owing to the limited number of doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine received from the national government, that s according to the Premier, Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane.
He said government is currently administering the 29 720 doses allocated by national government to inoculate healthcare workers in both the public and private sector (20 804 and 8916 respectively).
Health workers are 3 to 4 times more likely than the general population to be infected by COVID-19. In our province the number of healthcare workers who tested positive for SARS-Cov-2 was 11,978 and 307 demised. President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President David Mabuza, Minister Zweli Mkhize,
MEC Nomakhosazana Meth, MEC Mlungisi Mvoko and I visited the Aspen factory in Gqeberha to assess progress on the manufacturing of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine,” said Mabuyane.
He said some of the research trials of the vaccine that is manufactured at Aspen, were done in the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital s Nemacru in Mthatha.
We are a province that is becoming a manufacturing-based economy, producing quality products to solve the challenges of the world. We said to Aspen the vaccine they are manufacturing should start with the people of our province, our country and continent to protect them against the Covid-19 pandemic before it is exported to other continents of the world,” said Mabuyane, adding that President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasized that South Africa will access about 30 million Johnson and Johnson vaccines.
He said government believes that the mass vaccination program will be realized by partnering with every stakeholder to achieve the highest coverage in the shortest possible period.
In this regard we are working with traditional leaders, business community and civil society to share the burden of providing mix sites that are closer to where people live and work. We support the cabinet s directive for phase 2 mass vaccination to prioritize the elderly, the sick, and those with existing medical conditions who are at the highest risk of developing severe disease, hospitalizations, and deaths,” said Mabuyane.
He said government will speed up the vaccination programme to ensure that majority of people in the vulnerable groups get their first dose before the winter months to prevent covid-19 induced hospitalizations and excess deaths. Mabuyane said government believes that a vaccine that is simple to administer as a single dose, easy to transport has to prioritize rural and hard to reach communities to protect the fragile healthcare systems, which remains at risk of being overwhelmed by the third wave resurgence.
