Gauteng Premier, David Makhura, has heaped praise on the City’s vaccination programme, which has this week surpassed the 1 million mark.

Makhura says Johannesburg is officially the first region in the province to vaccinate more than 1 048 092 residents against Covid-19.

The City’s MMC for Health and Social Development, Cllr Eunice Mgcina, says the milestone has been achieved through the tireless efforts of healthcare workers.

The MMC, however, cautions against being complacent with this milestone. “We still have around 5 million more people to vaccinate. We dare not be complacent about this achievement,” she says.

To date, the City has vaccinated 53 percent of its elderly population, particularly people aged 60-years and older. In the Gauteng province in general, over 2.3 million vaccine doses have been administered in the last three months.

Cllr Mgcina says the City of Joburg will continue expanding its vaccination drive across the municipality to ensure no eligible people are left out. She encourages those eligible for vaccination not to delay getting the jab.

“Over the next few months, we are going to be out in full force in all of the City’s seven regions to ensure we get as many residents to register and vaccinate as possible. We are also going to be encouraging those people who are eligible for their second jab to also go out and get the additional dose of vaccination,” she says.

Cllr Mgcina notes that the City will continue working with civil society partners to implement innovative solutions such as drive-through and mobile (pop-up) vaccination sites to ramp up the vaccination programme within the municipality.

“We have already started door-to-door drives to provide information to residents and our health promoters are out educating residents about the benefits of getting a vaccine,” she adds.

It’s essential to vaccinate to avoid the spread of the delta variant, she adds. “The vaccination programme is a priority in the fight to reduce the risk of fatalities among those who are infected, so we can achieve population immunity.”

Cllr Mgcina pays homage to nurses, doctors, healthcare workers, environmental health practitioners, community-based health workers, and health promoters in the City for being at the forefront of the battle against Covid-19.

“All our health workers combined have truly been our foot soldiers in the fight against Covid-19. They have done a remarkable job and we are truly indebted to their hard work and I salute them,” she says.

Joburg residents who are 35-years and older are eligible for vaccination and can do so at 53 sites across the City’s seven regions. These centres are open from Monday to Friday, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. There are vaccination sites operated by the private sector, NGOs and the Gauteng Department of Health that also open on weekends. Gauteng sites accept walk-ins whether people are registered on the EVDS or not. The City assures young people between the ages of 18 and 34 that their calls for vaccination have been heard, says Mgcina.