Covid-19 weekly round-up: Vaccination pop-ups administered 63 000 jabs at voting stations

Over 63 000 voters who turned out to cast their ballot on Monday also received their Covid-19 vaccine.

The Department of Health set up 1 000 pop-up vaccination sites across the country at certain voting stations in response to the “let’s vote and vaccinate” campaign.

Government also incentivised vaccinations on voting day.

The first 260 000 individuals over the age of 60 who receive their first dose in November will receive a R100 grocery voucher that can be redeemed at Usave, Shoprite or Checkers.

Uber offered all South Africans R35 off on two rides to and from voting stations, and healthcare workers received R100 vouchers.

Nandos donated 1 000 vouchers to the healthcare worker teams at the vaccination pop-up sites. The top 15 teams who vaccinated the most people on election day scored the rewards.

The Department of Health’s spokesperson, Foster Mohale said they don’t foresee a rise of cases linked to the elections.

He added the department is confident with how the Electoral Commission (IEC) conducted the elections and it is satisfied with the level of compliance with Covid-19 protocols at voting stations.

Over 31% of adult South Africans are fully vaccinated

Over 12.3 million South Africans are fully vaccinated according to the Department of Health which translates to over 31% of the country’s adult population.

With around 39.8 million adults in South Africa, aged 18 years and over, the health department has set a target of vaccinating 70% of this population.

Health Minister Joe Phaahla says the country is on track to reaching this target.

During a media briefing last week, Phaahla said the vaccination program has retained a steady momentum as over 22.4 million doses have been administered.

By the middle of November, the department expects to have reached 40% of the adult population.

Meanwhile, over 7.1 billion Covid-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide.

Over the weekend, it was reported that five million people have died from Covid-19 since the disease first emerged in Wuhan, China nearly two years ago.

FDA authorises first Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized emergency use of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years, making it the first shot for young children in the country.

The shot will not be immediately available to the age group as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still needs to advise on how the shot should be administered.

The FDA’s decision is expected to make the vaccine available to 28 million children in the US, many of whom are back in school for in-person learning.

Only a few other countries, including China, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates, have cleared Covid-19 vaccines for children in this age group and younger.

Results from a clinical trial showed the Pfizer vaccine provides more than 90% protection against symptomatic disease among children, even at one-third the dose.

The FDA authorized a 10-microgram dose of Pfizer's vaccine in young children, lower than the 30 micrograms in the original vaccine for those age 12 and older.

Keep an eye out next week for another round-up of the top Covid-19 stories.

kelly.turner@africannewsagency.com