The Health Minister said the first batch of over 300,000 vials of the COVID-19 vaccine shots is expected to arrive in the country on 3 May 2021!
Johannesburg, South Africa (17 April 2021) – The South African Government has officially launched the COVID-19 vaccine online registration for the public as the Department of Health gears up for phase two of the country’s vaccine rollout.
According to Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) is now available to the general public and all citizens aged 60 years and above are invited to register for vaccination.
“This launch marks a significant milestone not only for our vaccination campaign but for South Africa’s advancement towards Universal Health Coverage,” he said on Friday.
The Minister said this was the first time in democratic history that a major public health campaign will be supported by one digital system for all South Africans.
“The President, myself, hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers and now you, the citizens of South Africa, have or will all access the vaccines through the same process by using this system.”
Mkhize explained that there would be no distinction between private and state healthcare users, except that private healthcare users will need to share their medical aid details.
“The quality of services will be the same for all of us, and the system will assign a vaccination site closest to our homes or where we work and not based on whether a particular site is a public or private facility.”
He said citizens must have their ID, medical aid card and ensure they put in the correct cellphone number and residential address where they live. However, the registration does not guarantee that you will be vaccinated immediately.
“We will use the information you provide when you register to communicate with you about the vaccination programme when necessary.”
New Vaccine Rollout Date
Meanwhile, the Health Minister announced on Wednesday that South Africa had secured an additional 10 million COVID-19 Pfizer vaccines. Speaking in Parliament, Mkhize told the Health Portfolio Committee on Wednesday that this will increase the total number of the two-dose vaccine to 30 million.
“We can now guarantee that the number of people that will be vaccinated with Pfizer has increased from 10 to 15 million.”
The Minister said the first batch of over 300 000 vials of these shots are expected to arrive in the country on 3 May 2021, while the rest of the consignment will be delivered weekly. However, he said both the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) agreements, which both cost US$10 per vaccine, have non-refundable clauses.
“The agreements state those down payments that have been made in advance by the department shall not be refundable by the manufacturer to us in any circumstances.
“This is another onerous term that we had to settle for,” the Minister told the committee.
Meanwhile, he said the government had received an email from J&J, stating that they will not sign off the 20 million doses until they receive a letter from the Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, expressing support for the local investment that they made in Aspen Pharmacare.
“We’ve been taken aback by this, as there are clauses in the agreement that express this support and acknowledge that this production will not just be limited to South Africa and the continent, but also targeted for the global market,” said Mkhize.
Last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa and his deputy, David Mabuza, visited the Aspen Pharmacare sterile manufacturing facility, where millions of vaccine shots are produced in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.
“Our support for this production in our country was publicly made… J&J said if we don’t give them this letter, we’re making their global leadership nervous, and to them, we’ve not shown our political will to support them,” said Mkhize.
He acknowledged that the government has had to navigate through difficult and sometimes unreasonable terms.
“I can also assure you that we haven’t been sleeping on the job,” Mkhize said.
J&J vaccine suspended
Meanwhile, South Africa has suspended the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine as a precautionary measure.
This comes after the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) paused the rollout of the vaccine following reports of a rare clotting condition in six people out of 7 million doses administered.
However, a final decision on the suspension is expected in the next few days. Addressing media on Tuesday night, Mkhize was confident that in an unlikely event that the J&J rollout is completely halted, the country would still be able to proceed with phase two of the vaccination programme.
“We are confident that the rollout of Johnson & Johnson will resume, and so, with 30 million doses of Johnson & Johnson and 30 million doses of Pfizer secured, we now have enough doses to exceed the 40 million we were targeting this year,” he said
How to register
- Make sure you have internet access.
- You will need a smartphone, a tablet or a computer.
- Connect to the internet and go to vaccine.enroll.health.gov.za. The welcome screen will guide you through the steps.
- Follow the instructions and put in all the details the system asks for.
- When you are finished, the system will send an SMS to the phone number you provided. This means that the system now has your details in a queue to be scheduled for your vaccine.
- You will then receive an SMS with a date and the place where you will be vaccinated. You will be sent to the vaccination centre that is closest to your home. Some of you may be directed to your place of work.
- If you have problems, you may contact the COVID-19 Hotline at 0800 029 999.
- Citizen will be provided with a proof of vaccination card and receive a confirmation SMS on their phone.
Internet connection
Mkhize said the department would use the smartphones and petrol that has been donated by various companies and organisations to send teams out to help vulnerable citizens who do not have access to digital technology. This includes the elderly, the homeless and those who live in the deep rural areas that are difficult to reach.
“We will ensure that these team members are easy to identify and that you can verify that they are indeed accredited outreach team members.”
They will also be trained to educate and raise awareness on vaccination in the community. The government will soon announce a WhatsApp service to assist in this process.
“If you are unable to register by these methods, you may simply go to the nearest vaccination centre, and we will register you on the spot. If you are 60 years or above, we will also vaccinate you at the same time.”
According to Mkhize, this is only because the government wants to prioritise those who are most at risk of getting sick or dying of COVID-19. He has urged those who are technological savvy to assist senior citizens in registering.
“Please help your mother, your father, your grandmother, your grandfather or your friend who is 60 years or older to register so they can get vaccinated.”
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