Dr KL Jacobs
The ANC welcomes Phase 2 of the COVID-19 vaccination which was rolled out from Monday 17th May 2021. Government has set a target of vaccinating an estimated 5.5 million South Africans over the age of 60.
Last week, the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS), sent out the country’s first text messages for Covid-19 vaccination appointments. Most of the teething problems which included receiving text messages of notifications on short notice, recording of vaccinations manually because of load shedding and glitches in the system which resulted in some being turned away after notification have all been addressed. Important points to note during this vaccination phase include (i) allocation of vaccination site closest to the person to be vaccinated, (ii) the number of vaccination sites available in an area will determine the length of time one will receive an SMS for appointment after registration, (iii) one will not be able to register on the EVDS if one is not a health worker or 60 years and older, (iv) the number of times one registers does not determine how soon one will receive an appointment, (v) if one misses an appointment, the EVDS will automatically reschedule a new appointment and send out an SMS with a date and (vi) if one does not have any form of identification, the health department is currently working on a system to address that issue to allow those affected to be vaccinated.
We are confident that as more vaccination sites are identified, the process will unfold smoothly. We urge all South African citizens to abide by the processes and ensure that they are vaccinated accordingly.
