Watch: Phase 2 of vaccine roll-out begins in iLembe District

Phase 2 of the country’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout program officially began in the iLembe District last Wednesday.

Staff from the KZN department of health administered the first dose of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine to 36 old age home residents and care workers at the Edgedale Old Age Home in Glendale.

The Pfizer vaccine comprises two doses given 3 weeks apart.

However, health minister Zweli Mkhize said that following expert advice this may be stretched from six weeks up to a maximum of four months if vaccines are in short supply.

According to a new UK study, delaying the second dose of Pfizer’s vaccine could help people produce more antibodies against the virus.

Phase 1 of the 3 phase nationwide vaccination programme, which involved inoculating frontline health care workers, began in mid-February with the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccine following the suspension of an earlier plan to use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

The second phase of the vaccination programme kicked off last Monday, May 17 and will run in 2 stages, targeting the most vulnerable groups such as those over 60, people with co-morbidities, essential workers and people living in confined settings (where close contact increases exposure risk) such as prisons.

Phase 2 began with vaccinations in old age homes.

The balance of health workers, who did not receive their vaccine in phase 1 as part of the Sisonke study with single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines will also be covered – almost 480 000 health care workers were vaccinated in the first phase.

The study had aimed to vaccinate 500 000 health workers.

The second phase will run from May to end July, and from August to end of October while phase 3 of the programme will begin in November and is expected to continue for 3 months.

The slow pace of the vaccination programme highlights the challenges the country is facing in reaching its aim of inoculating the 40 million it needs to reach ‘herd immunity’.

However, the government has said the programme will pick up pace.

So far the vaccines have only been approved for use in people older than the age of 18 by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) so no children will be immunised for now.

“We are relieved to have been offered the first dose of the vaccine which I believe is the route out of this pandemic. Since the outbreak our care home residents have endured difficult months of restricted access to their loved ones. I hope it keeps our residents and staff safe and hopefully we can start making our way back to normality in the coming months,” said Edgedale Old Age Home owner, Marj Edgeley.

The health department aims to vaccinate 50 000 old age home residents by the end of May.

The first batch of the 325 260 doses of Pfizer vaccines arrived in the country this month with 4.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccines expected to reach the country by the end of June.

For now only Pfizer vaccines are in use, with safety release still pending on the one-dose J&J vaccines.

You cannot get an appointment for a Covid-19 vaccine without being registered on the government’s electronic vaccination data system (EVDS).

So far, only those who qualify under phase 2 can register.

The health department will announce when other groups should register.

Your cellphone number will be used to communicate with you about the details of your appointment.

You will be directed to a vaccination site that is closest to either where you stay or your place of work.

These sites include hospitals, community clinics, retail pharmaceutical outlets Dis-chem and Clicks and some stadiums and conference centres.

The province has identified the Royal Showgrounds, Pinetown Civic Centre and King Zwelithini Stadium, among others, as mass vaccination sites and hopes to have about 600 sites ready during phase 3.

In KwaDukuza the following sites have been designated for phase 2 vaccinations from 9am to 3pm.

• Shakashead Community Hall: 26 to 28 May
• KwaDukuza Town Hall: 29 to 30 May
• Loyds Community Hall: 31 May to 2 June
• Townsend Park Scout Hall: 3 June to 6 June

Private medical scheme, Discovery Health, has also launched an online registration system called Vaccination Navigator, which is similar to the health departments EVDS.

Members of the scheme must register on both portals.

Medical aid schemes and the national health department are responsible for all costs involved.

This includes a R70 administration fee as well as about R308 per Pfizer dose and R355 per Johnson & Johnson dose.