Vaccination demand increases in KZN

The province continues to rank second highest in terms of the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid-19 countrywide.

DURBAN, June 1 (ANA) – KwaZulu-Natal has been taking productive strides in administering the Covid-19 vaccine to its residents and has seen an increase in the demand for vaccinations, according to the provincial government.

The province is in the midst of phase two of its vaccine roll-out plan, which will see people aged 60 and over prioritised to receive the Pfizer jab.

Health-care workers who missed their chance during phase one have also been prioritised during the second phase.

The province has a total of 97 vaccination sites and has immunised 163,415 people aged over 60, as well as about 120,589 health-care workers in both the private and public sectors, the provincial government said in a statement.

KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala said on Tuesday that he was satisfied with the level of efficiency displayed by the province, adding that there has yet to be any issues reported after vaccinations.

“We are observing that there is a growing demand for people to be vaccinated and the capacity we have created in the province is able to cope with the numbers. That is why we are rapidly rolling out the programme to more sites.

“We are urging young people who are techno-savvy to assist the elderly with registration. Those elderly people who have challenges with getting vaccinated may also visit their local primary health-care clinics and ask to be assisted with registration,” Zikalala said during a visit in KwaMsane, northern KZN, on Tuesday.

Zikalala said that more vaccination sites will be added to the system once more doses become available.

“We are excited with the progress here in Mtubatuba. We have seen that they are prioritising the elderly and vulnerable groups. We want to ensure that most of the qualifying groups at this stage (over 60 and above) are registered and receive their inoculations as soon as possible,” the premier said.

Leading by example, KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Ravi Pillay received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday.

Pillay said that he felt fine after taking it and encouraged those in the qualifying age category to register for their vaccinations as well.

Pillay received his jab at the Royal Showgrounds vaccination site in Pietermaritzburg in the Msunduzi local municipality and will get his second dose in 42 days’ time.

“I am taking advantage of the Covid vaccination programme for those over 60 years and I do qualify… There’s no adverse effects, I feel quite fine,” the department quoted Pillay as saying, minutes after getting the injection.

The province, however, continues to rank the second highest in terms of the number of laboratory-confirmed cases countrywide with 339,888, according to the Department of Health.

The average case count recorded over the past seven days was 136 cases per day.

The province has lost 10,515 people to the virus.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher