Gauteng should release updates of much-needed vaccinations

19 May 2021

The Gauteng Health Department should release detailed daily updates on the Covid-19 Phase Two vaccinations which cover the 1.3 million people who are over 60 years of age.

This would assist in assessing progress and identifying weak spots where more needs to be done to speed up the vaccinations.

According to the National Health Department, 39 371 vaccinations have been done countywide so far this week, but we do not know how many of these were in Gauteng and its various districts.

I am concerned by reports that many elderly people have received short notice to travel long distances for their vaccinations.

In some cases they have arrived at the site and been told that the vaccines have run out.

While teething problems could be expected, it is clear that vastly more vaccination sites need to be running that are closer to where people live. For instance, there are no vaccination sites in the A and B regions in north west Johannesburg.

It is disappointing that the private sector sites in Gauteng will only be operational next week as they are vitally needed to boost the numbers of vaccinated people.

A decentralised model of vaccine distribution will work best in Gauteng, with the private and public sectors working together to save lives as a third wave looms of Covid-19 infections.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, 19 May 2021