The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) says the launch of COVID-19 vaccination pop-up sites at taxi ranks will play a major role in reducing the infection rates at these busy transport interchanges.

The Department of Health in the Western Cape launched one of the sites at the Cape Town taxi rank.

During the launch, taxi operators, commuters and street hawkers all had the opportunity to receive vaccine doses.

SANTACO provincial chairperson Nazeem Abdurahman says the taxi industry is grateful to the provincial government for assisting them with the vaccine programme.

“The taxi ranks are where we have mass transport. We have people that are moving a lot and by bringing these sites closer we will definitely reduce the infection rate,” he adds.

Reporter Vanessa Poonah is at the pop-up vaccination site:

The Western Cape government aims to vaccinate 70 percent of its population by the end of November amid lingering vaccine hesitancy.

On Sunday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated that vaccinated people were less likely to become severely ill or die from COVID-19-related complications.

He addressed the nation on the country’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic – as the country records a decline in new coronavirus cases in recent weeks.