Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha says the province has established vaccination task teams and various committees that will oversee the rollout of the first phase of the inoculation process. Mathabatha and the Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba outlined the provincial plan which will be conducted in three phases.
The first phase of vaccination of frontline healthcare workers is expected to start soon and will be divided into two stages. The Limpopo provincial rollout plan is expected to see close to 50 000 healthcare workers receiving the first round of the vaccine.
Around 44 000 vaccines will be distributed to 39 facilities where they will be kept and administered by appointed teams comprising of professional vaccinators.
Mathabatha says they have appointed these structures to work alongside the health department.
“Limpopo has successfully established governance, co-ordination and planning structures which are tasked with the COVID-19 vaccination process. Those structures are provincial working management, vaccine technical working group, working workgroup, and the COVID-19 district working committee task team. The Limpopo Department of Health will coordinate the process through the deployment of two committees which are the COVID-19 search committee and the vaccine technical working group.”
Mathabatha says the province can successfully complete phase one of the vaccination campaign in three weeks once it receives the doses.
“As part of enrolment for the vaccine, all health workers will complete online registration. This system will also be part of the consent procedures and risk assessment through all the systems put in place. Limpopo has the capacity to vaccinate all the phase one population within a period of two to three weeks.”
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Health MEC Ramathuba says an additional 6 000 frontline workers contracted to the department through various Non-Governmental Organisations, will form part of the inoculation campaign during the first phase. He says these are health workers who were not included in the initial doses earmarked for the province. She says they are working on securing 6 000 more doses for the first phase which will be divided into two.
“We did the stat. It comes to around 6 000. We have already made a submission that we have a shortfall of 6 000. When you look at frontline workers, if you look at our district vaccination, the Premier spoke of phase one and phase two. Then when you go to details, in phase one we have phase one A and phase one B,” details Ramathuba.
Ramathuba says the nature of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine means the first phase population will have to receive another round of the vaccination a few weeks after the initial one.
“In terms of the intervals which you have asked, we give the AstraZeneca vaccine which is what we have now, you give it today, the second dose you must give it within four and 12 weeks.”
The vaccination process is expected to start this month across different provinces.
Limpopo says it has suitable storage facilities for the vaccines.
Premier Mathathaba has also stressed that individuals have the right to object to the vaccine.
