President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa’s vaccine rollout will open for people aged 18 to 34 from 1 September 2021. "We will now allow people between 18 to 34 to get vaccinated from 1 September 2021. This is in addition to age groups eligible which is everyone over 35 years," he said.
"We're now able to allow people who need to be vaccinated to present themselves at vaccination sites to be vaccinated. The substantial increase is made possible by improvements in the supply of vaccines."
True broer phela ama 2000 inkinga ka problem
— Salwyn B (@salwynB) July 25, 2021
New proposed next group 21 – 34 year-olds from 1 September 2021
- Those between 18 - 20 year-olds are most still in high school kids most doing matric.
- Those between 21 - 34 are happy to be mixed with ama 2000s.
Who will manage the roll-out of the vaccine for South Africans to be vaccinated?
The South Africa Government will source, distribute, and oversee the roll-out of the vaccines. As the sole purchaser of vaccines, the government will distribute vaccines to provincial governments and the private sector.
Why are certain groups of people being prioritised for vaccination?
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that those most at risk of severe illness, death and exposure to COVID-19 get vaccinated first. These include frontline health workers (especially those providing COVID-19 patient care) and older people.
What are the different phases for the vaccine to be rolled out?
The vaccine will be rolled out in a three-phase approach, that begins with the most vulnerable in our population.
- Phase 1: The country’s estimated 1.2 million frontline healthcare workers.
- Phase 2: Essential workers, persons in congregate settings and persons over 50 years.
- Phase 3: The final phase will target 22,5 million members of the population over the age of 18 years.
The target is to vaccinate 67 per cent of the population by the end of 2021, in order to achieve herd immunity.
Are comorbidities in or out as a prioritisation category?
Comorbidities are no longer used as a category to prioritise vaccinations. This is because research has shown that age is the strongest predictor of how likely someone is to end up in hospital or die of COVID. Age is therefore a considerably more reliable indicator to use for prioritisation.
We’re in the third wave, and now we have no J&J vaccines coming. What are we going to do?
The vaccine rollout is continuing at a reasonable speed with the Pfizer vaccine. The fact that we will not receive the J&J vaccines, as planned, will slow the process down, but the National Department of Health is committed to using the Pfizer vaccines to ensure that we vaccinate as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. We will overcome these issues, and to date, millions of South Africans have been vaccinated at hundreds of sites across our country. Our best advice for everyone at the moment is to stay safe and follow the COVID-19 prevention methods as before.
Who can get the vaccine in Phase 2 of the roll-out?
In Phase 2 the following people can get vaccinated:
- Essential workers, e.g. South African Police Service, Correctional Services, etc.
- People in congregate settings, e.g. prisons, old age homes, mental health facilities, etc.
- People over fifty years of age
- People over 35 years of age
Which will be the next group to be vaccinated?
- After the 35-49 year olds the next group will be the 18 – 34 year olds from 1 September 2021.
Who are considered essential workers in the roll-out?
The National Department of Health is working with key departments on vaccination ‘projects’ for essential services sectors. These vaccination ‘projects’ include:
- Basic Education Sector
- Department of Defence and Military Veterans
- South African Police Service
- Department of Correctional Services
- Social Development Sector (including ECD/SASSA)
- Department of Home Affairs
- Department of Justice
- National Prosecuting Authority
- Public agencies
