CAPE TOWN - More than 500 teachers and staff who work at public schools received their Covid-19 jabs on Thursday at the Pinelands EMS site, the only vaccination facility operating in the metro to date. More are expected to open their doors on Friday.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) will not disclose the locations of other vaccination sites at this stage to prevent walk-ins.
Initially the Western Cape was going to launch the vaccination programme in the education sector on Friday, however the vaccines arrived late on Tuesday which allowed the province to join the rest of the country.
Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said he was satisfied with the first day of the programme on Wednesday, as a preliminary report from the Department of Health showed that more than 48 000 educators and staff were vaccinated.
“This figure excludes the Western Cape and Limpopo, which will start administering the vaccines in earnest on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The Western Cape only recorded about 30 people as vaccinated for the purposes of the launch. Limpopo didn’t vaccinate (on Wednesday) in line with their plan. The province will vaccinate over two weekends, starting this Friday and Saturday, and will then conclude next week on Friday and Saturday,” said Mhlanga.
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said nine additional vaccination sites across the province including the Tygerberg Hospital site would open their doors to welcome scheduled recipients.
“This morning (Thursday), the vaccinations progressed well, with scheduled recipients seen on arrival with short waiting periods. Over 2 700 teachers and non-teaching staff will be vaccinated at 10 sites tomorrow (Friday). This number will increase to over 4 300 on Monday. So far, 25 387 teachers and non-teaching staff have been informed of where and when they will be vaccinated. The WCED is notifying schools directly based on the consent confirmations received.”
A total of 29 sites will be used until July 8 when the education sector programme is expected to conclude.
Cape Times