The Covid-19 vaccine roll-out for people older than 60 was off to a rocky start on Monday after miscommunication from the Mpumalanga Department of Health (DoH).

On Monday people from the Ehlanzeni District received messages informing them to go to their designated vaccination sites, but they were sent home again without receiving their jab.

The disgruntled community members raised their concerns on how the DoH had failed to communicate with them. They accused the department of not being considerate towards the elderly people who had to wake up early to get to the designated sites, but were then sent home without a valid explanation.

Members of the public said phase 2 of the vaccine roll-out includes vulnerable people and the department could have communicated better.

Some of the people who had gone to Rob Ferreira Hospital were referred to Themba Hospital. According to them, the lack of communication is not only making them spend money unnecessarily, but also putting strain on them. Some of these seniors have health issues due to age, some are wheelchair-bound and some use crutches for support.

This follows the announcement that the electronic vaccination data system is now available to the public, and that all citizens aged 60 years and over are invited to register.

Several community members voiced their frustrations regarding the alleged bad service they had received.

On Tuesday, Lowvelder received more complaints on slow administration of the vaccine at Rob Ferreira. “We were told to go to the hospital on Monday. We did and now it is the second day of queueing.

They did not make it on time. The department needs to do something about this,” a disappointed caller said. The administration started at around 10:00, although people had been queuing from as early as 06:00. “I went to Rob Ferreira Hospital,” a reader told the newspaper on Monday.

“There were about 30 of us and there was nobody to help us. Eventually I went to find out what was happening. I was told that their logistics were not right. They then referred me to the Covid-19 hotline number and told me I had to get a new voucher number and basically re-register.

What I do not understand, is how will they be able to track who had received the vaccine and who has not if they want us to restart the registration process again?” she asked. Mahlatse Ndlovu (not his real name), another person who received the message, said he does not understand why he was asked to travel all the way from Matsulu to Nkomazi for his vaccine. “I received a message on Monday at 06:02 that said I should go to Shongwe Hospital for assistance.

On my arrival, I was told that the vaccine would not be administered today. My wife and I had travelled all the way from Matsulu – just to be turned away. I do not understand why they would refer us to a hospital that is not close to our home and then inform us that they cannot help us. It is very unfair of them to do that to us,” he explained.

The health department spokesperson, Dumisani Malamule, said the vaccination roll-out could not start in Ehlanzeni District due to a delay in delivering the diluent (a liquid required to dissolve the powder of the Pfizer vaccine). This has since been resolved and the programme resumed on Tuesday. All the people who were scheduled for the vaccination were recalled to the sites for assistance. According to Malamule, they managed to vaccinate patients in two other districts. “More than 500 people were vaccinated on Monday.”

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There are six vaccination sites in the province. There are two in Ehlanzeni District – Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mbombela and Shongwe Hospital in the Nkomazi Local Municipality.

In Nkangala District there are two sites: Witbank Hospital in the eMalahleni Local Municipality and Middelburg Hospital in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality.

Gert Sibande District has Ermelo Hospital in the Msukaligwa Local municipality and Bethal Hospital in the Govan Mbeki Local municipality as sites.

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Malamule said besides the six vaccination sites, the department has deployed teams that are conducting the vaccine roll-out in various old-age homes and community halls around Mpumalanga.

Members of the community who contacted Lowvelder said the department should account for sending the messages. The health department had not given any feedback on this at time of going to press.

On Wednesday this is what Malamule said: 

The vaccine was depleted at Rob Ferreira Hospital early yesterday due to the high turnout of people to the facility, the Department of Health’s spokesperson, Dumisani Malamule, said yesterday.

The vaccine was provided earlier based on the number of people who have registered, but the public turned out in their numbers. This included those who had not registered and the department could not turn them away, hence they had to be registered and vaccinated simultaneously.

There is stock available and the roll-out plan is continuing. The department would like to encourage the public to register via the electronic vaccination data system to avoid unscheduled vaccination administration which is leading to congestion at the vaccination sites.