“As a private sector service provider, we are pleased to be playing a meaningful role in servicing South Africans more equitably,” says Dis-Chem CEO Ivan Saltzman.

“Dis-Chem welcomed a high proportion of uninsured patients across all our sites on Monday 5 July, which demonstrates the demand for vaccination by all South Africans and is an early validation of the latest policy change.”

Dis-Chem has seen a significant surge in demand across its sites nationally, driven by three main factors: over 50s registration and eligibility; the growing need to administer second-doses as the country enters the second week of second doses; and private sector sites now being able to vaccinate uninsured individuals.

  Since the campaign started, Dis-Chem has administered approximately 100,000 vaccinations. Dis-Chem has been operating at full capacity since Friday 2 July.  While eligible walk-ins registered on EVDS are being accommodated, priority is given to those with a booking.

The group has also confirmed it currently has sufficient stock of the vaccine across its vaccination site network.  It opened three new mass vaccination sites last week (La Lucia, Bloemfontein and Menlyn, Pretoria) and is currently operating 14 mass vaccination sites across the country. 

Additional sites are in the planning stage, which includes mass vaccination sites and in-store clinics.  The full list of Dis-Chem vaccination sites and a link to EVDS can be found here.