Thanks to seasoned editor Mia Malan, we now have more clarity on the process underway to register senior citizens for COVID-19 vaccination.
[Thread] 1. People in South Africa who are 60 years and older can register on the government's electronic vaccination system from 4pm today (it was announced at a press briefing this morning). https://t.co/RQl7gx0gkd
— Mia Malan (@miamalan) April 16, 2021
COVID-19 vaccination update: Here’s everything we know
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize held a press briefing on Friday morning, where it was announced that the commencement of registrations for citizens aged over 60 has been launched.
Mkhize made it clear that at this time, this is only to register citizens’ details to help expedite the vaccination rollout once it resumes and South Africa receives more batches of jabs from Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Pfizer.
Currently, the use of J&J has been halted pending the outcome of a review by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) after six women in the United States (US), aged between 8 and 48, had developed a rare blood clotting disorder shortly after taking the jab.
“Based on the data, no major safety concerns have been identified. No causal relationship between vaccination and the development of blood clots is evident at this stage,” the health authority noted in a statement.
Not leaving things to chance, SAHPRA will take a few days to review data collected on the Sisonke study (SA’s vaccination programme) and research from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to map a way forward.
Vaccine registration now open to senior South Africans
While this plays out in the backend, the health department has greenlit the registration process for those aged 60 and above to jot their details on the system for priority consideration once this phase of the rollout reopens.
Here is a blow-by-blow account of the registration process for senior citizens, provided by Malan, Editor-in-Chief at Bhekisisa:
- Registrations must be made on the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) from 16:00 on Friday 16 April;
- the system will only allow you to register and not yet allocate you a site or date to get vaccinated;
- registrants must have access to the internet, an ID or passport and a cellphone number to complete the registration;
- registrations at vaccinations sites are permitted but only when they reopen (they were closed since the halt of the J&J vaccine);
- the residential address registrants enter will be used to allocate the nearest vaccination centre once it has reopened;
- once registered, users will receive an SMS text confirming the details; and
- vaccination sites and dates allocated to registrants will be communicated in due course.
At the time this article was published, South Africa had vaccinated over 292 000 healthcare workers. These are the latest COVID-19 statistics published by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
#COVID19 UPDATE: A total of 34 971 tests were conducted in the last 24 hrs, with 1 599 new cases, which represents a 4.6% positivity rate. A further 75 #COVID19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 53 498 to date. Read more here: https://t.co/VAoVKrLjrG pic.twitter.com/nPnbb9Iveh
— NICD (@nicd_sa) April 14, 2021
