vaccinated covid

Joe Phaahla addresses an audience in Kenya – Photo: GCIS

SA ‘will drop more COVID rules’ – once this many people are vaccinated

Joe Phaahla has laid the gauntlet down for South Africans: If more people get vaccinated, more COVID measures can be lifted.

vaccinated covid

Joe Phaahla addresses an audience in Kenya – Photo: GCIS

Health Minister Joe Phaahla has revealed that South Africa could find itself with even fewer COVID-19 measures going forward – if more citizens make the decision to get vaccinated this year.

How many people are vaccinated in South Africa?

The country has a national vaccination rate of roughly 49%. While favourable against other African countries, this falls short of many other nations. In particular, young South Africans have shown little enthusiasm to receive the vaccine, despite its proved effectiveness in reducing severe illness and death.

The highest number of vaccinated citizens can be found in Free State, where over 58% of the population have had their shots. The Western Cape is second with 56%, with Limpopo reporting an uptake of 55%.

However, KZN is rooted to the bottom of the table, with just 42% of locals coming forward to get vaccinated. Mpumalanga on 43%, and Gauteng on 46%, don’t fare much better either…

Photo: SA Coronavirus

More COVID-19 measures will be dropped – if *this many* people get a vaccine

The State of Disaster came to an end on Tuesday morning, but a set of preventative measures – such as limits on gathering sizes indoor mask mandates – will remain with us. Minister Phaahla, however, says these restrictions can eventually be dropped, if South Africa achieves a national vaccinate rate of 70%

“We are surveilling the new sub-variants, but we don’t know how it will behave. We only have projections on how serious it will be and when it will arrive. Natural immunity will not last forever, which is why you should vaccinate.”

“We are not obsessed with the Disaster Management Act. We are focused on saving lives. If we can reach a 70% vaccination rate, preventative measures like gathering restrictions will not be required. Some countries have a 90% vaccination rate and have reduced all measures – we hope to get there.”

Joe Phaahla