vaccination vaccine passport vaccine certificates

The Kwazulu-Natal government is concerned about the province’s slow uptake of the Covid-19 vaccination. Image via Twitter: @GautengHealth

Vaccines: You no longer need to make an appointment to get your jab

Cyril Ramaphosa has announced vaccines will be available for 18 to 34 year olds from 1 September, and anyone eligible can walk in without an appointment.

vaccination vaccine passport vaccine certificates

The Kwazulu-Natal government is concerned about the province’s slow uptake of the Covid-19 vaccination. Image via Twitter: @GautengHealth

Vaccines will now be administered, even if you didn’t make an appointment, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday 25 July, during his address to the nation.

Ramaphosa gave further details of how the country is stepping up its vaccine rollout, which will see 18 to 34-year-olds being vaccinated from 1 September.

VACCINES FOR 18 TO 34 YEAR OLDS FROM 1 SEPTEMBER

“We are now administering more than 240,000 vaccines every weekday. A month ago, this figure stood at around 100,000 vaccines per weekday. As a result, we have now administered more than 6.3 million vaccines, with over 10 per cent of our population having received a dose. In the coming weeks, we will substantially increase the rate of vaccination. We are increasing the number of vaccination sites and improving the vaccination registration system. We will also increase our vaccination capacity on weekends,” Ramaphosa said.

“We will now allow people between the ages of 18 and 34 to be vaccinated from the 1st of September 2021. This will be in addition to the age groups that are currently eligible, which is everyone over 35 years of age. We are now able to allow people to present themselves at a vaccination site without an appointment and be registered and vaccinated,” he said.

READ: Vaccine calculator SA: Here’s when YOU will be offered a COVID-19 jab

Ramaphosa also announced the acquisition of more doses, and the local manufacture millions more. South Africa will receive around 31 million additional doses from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

ENOUGH SUPPLY FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR

“While there is ample supply of vaccines for the short term, we must ensure that this supply is delivered on time and without disruption. This substantial increase in the rate of vaccination is made possible by improvements in the supply of vaccines,” he said. “This supply pipeline means that there will be sufficient vaccine doses available for the rest of the year.”

Ramaphosa said Aspen, based in Gqeberha, will from October be manufacturing vaccines solely for the African continent.

“A few weeks ago the World Health Organization chose South Africa as hub for the manufacture of vaccines. A few days ago, the Biovac Institute in Cape Town was appointed to manufacture the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for distribution within Africa,” Ramaphosa said.

READ: Shot in the arm: SA ‘close to securing vaccines’ from China and Russia

Ramaphosa urged all South Africans to register for vaccination as soon as they are eligible, whether online, via WhatsApp or USSD, or by calling the toll-free number on 0800 029 999.