More than 2,000 SAPS members inoculated against Covid-19
On day two of the programme, 2,055 vaccines had been administered to police officers and support personnel at both the Orlando stadium in Soweto and the SAPS Tshwane Academy vaccination site following the launch on Monday.
PRETORIA, July 7 (ANA) – The South African Police Service (SAPS) Covid-19 vaccination programme is gaining momentum with 1,000 more employees vaccinated on the second day after the launch of the large scale project, it said on Wednesday.
By day two on Tuesday, 2,055 vaccines had been administered to police officers and support personnel at both the Orlando stadium in Soweto and the SAPS Tshwane Academy vaccination site after Monday’s launch of the exercise, police national spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe said in a statement.
At Orlando, 760 officers were vaccinated on Tuesday, bringing the total number of officers vaccinated at the site to 1,285. At the Tshwane academy, 770 SAPS members were vaccinated over the two days, among them 58-year-old cleaner Constance Makhaye.
“I feel very happy about today, I was initially scared to vaccinate, now that I have received my vaccine, I am going to encourage my colleagues to come and be the next in line to get vaccinated,” said Makhaye.
Captain Daniel Dhanarajan, aged 48, a trainer attached to the SAPS Atteridgeville academy in Pretoria said he was also excited to get inoculated.
“I feel very strong and relieved to know that my colleagues, family and I will be safe and guarded against the severe effects of this virus,” said Dhanarajan, a law enforcement veteran with 22 years of service.
As of Tuesday, 32,565 SAPS employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, with 30,955 recovering while 673 have succumbed.
“While vaccination is voluntary, the SAPS continues to encourage all members to get vaccinated in a bid to operate optimally in serving and protecting the people of South Africa. Vaccinating our members does not mean we should stop adhering to the non-pharmaceutical health and safety protocols,” said Mathe.
“The SAPS will continue to ensure that all health and safety protocols at all service points remain in place and are adhered to by members.”
While encouraging employees to get vaccinated against the pandemic, the SAPS said some people would not qualify, including anyone who has contracted Covid-19 in the last 30 days, any person who has received a flu vaccine within 14 days, and any member who was vaccinated prior to the SAPS rollout programme commencing.
“The SAPS continues to monitor preparations in place for the nationwide rollout at all 108 registered sites. The provincial rollouts will commence on Thursday … in eight provinces. Gauteng will be the last province to rollout its vaccination drive from Friday,” Mathe said.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa