Western Cape administers three million COVID-19 vaccines

The Western Cape Department of Health would like to thank the residents who have heeded the call to roll-up their sleeves and get vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 40% of eligible population in the Western Cape has received either J&J vaccine or at least one dose of Pfizer vaccine. This is currently the highest coverage rate in the country. 

President Ramaphosa presented the Western Cape (along with Limpopo and Eastern Cape) with an award at the launch of the VOOMA campaign Friday 1 October, to mark the excellent progress in the province. 

More about the numbers

To put our numbers into perspective, we have administered 3 million vaccine doses, resulting in just over 40% of the total adult population (18 years and older) in the province already being protected, either through being partially or fully vaccinated. In terms of protecting the more vulnerable groups, a total of 60% of persons 60 years and older have been fully vaccinated.

Of those registered who have received at least 1 dose we have managed to vaccinate:

• 67% of the over 60s
• 55% of the 50 to 59-year-olds
• 39% of the 30 to 49-year-olds
• 25% of those aged 18 to 29 years

Thank you to everyone

The department wants to acknowledge every individual who has contributed towards this achievement. “We have many dedicated vaccination site team members (fixed and outreach/ pop-ups), teams within the organisation and all management teams from the HOD to facility-level within the department and City Health to thank for going the extra mile in order to save lives. The support from our political leaders within provincial and local governments has been, and is, phenomenal. We cannot forget about our many partners from community structures to higher education institutions, community organisations, the private sector, and other government sector partners, as well as the members of the public who have taken the vaccine,” said Juanita O. Arendse, the provincial vaccination programme and project office lead.

Vaccination going forward

We aim to fully vaccinate 70% of those over 50 years by December and 70% of the eligible population with at least one dose. We are confident that more eligible residents will take up the offer to get vaccinated in the coming weeks. If most people get vaccinated, we will significantly reduce the number of COVID-19 related hospitalisations and deaths during a potential fourth wave of infections. This is because the vaccine provides excellent protection against severe COVID-19 disease which results in hospitalisation and death and remains our only sustainable means to return to some level of acceptable economic activity.