The City of Tshwane says there’s been a steady increase in the number of people receiving COVID-19 vaccine in the city.

Around 612 000 people have been vaccinated in the capital with almost 425 000 fully inoculated.

Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba says in the week leading up to the third of September, more than 19 000 people aged between 30 and 39 received a jab, with the 20 to 29 age group following closely behind with more than 15 000.

The age category 60 and above remain the most vaccinated. Bokaba says the city has increased the number of vaccination sites to ensure that residents have easy access.

“The City has added two more vaccination sites to its current list bringing the total number to 45. The two sites, Ramotse Civic Hall in Hammanskraal and Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (formerly MEDUNSA) in Ga-Rankuwa, will be operating on weekdays from Monday to Friday.”

Vaccine hesitancy stems from lack of information: Psychologist

Psychologists say vaccine hesitancy stems from several factors including a lack of information.

According to the Health Department, more than 5 million people in South Africa have been fully vaccinated so far.

Psychologist Lerato Motsalane-Wana says more needs to be done to address vaccine hesitancy in the country.

“I am of the opinion that people’s reluctance or hesitancy to vaccinate is actually valid when viewed from their perspective or context. When you got no knowledge of vaccination, it’s going to sound like a crazy idea. The hesitancy or reluctance may not only stem from limited information but also from an understanding of that information. Once we have that information, do we trust the person who is giving it to us? Do we trust the actual information?”

Vaccine hesitancy is one of the global health threats: WHO

Psychologists say vaccine hesitancy stems from several factors including a lack of information as well as group thinking influence. The World Health Organization (WHO) says vaccine hesitancy is one of the global health threats.

Psychologists say more needs to be done to address vaccine hesitancy in the country.

South Africa launched its vaccination programme in February this year. The aim was to vaccinate 70% of the population, or 28 million people, by end of the year. To do this, 250 000 jabs a day would need to be administered.

However, since the end of last month, only 200 000 people a day were vaccinated as vaccine apathy began to set in.

“I’m not willing to vaccinate because I’m not sure if this thing is going to work. At first, they said you only have to vaccinate yourself once, after that they came with other stories that you have to vaccinate twice,” are some of the reasons cited.

“My parents at home are scared to vaccinate because of fake news they heard from people that you tend to get side effects or die after getting a jab. My plea to government is to go to our parents and teach them about vaccination, instead of just telling them to get vaccinated,” said another person.