The Western Cape estimates 100,000 health-care workers will need to be immunised during the first phase of its Covid-19 vaccination rollout, which is expected to get under way within a matter of weeks.
Health minister Zweli Mkhize announced last week that the national government had secured 1.5-million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines from the Serum Institute of India, earmarked for health-care workers. Two-thirds are due to arrive in SA later this month, and the final third in February.
Each province is expected to devise its own vaccination plan, in line with the national government’s guidance on which sectors of society should be prioritised for the first shots.
Western Cape head of health Keith Cloete outlined the provincial government’s plan, which includes setting up an electronic registry of people to be vaccinated, which he described as similar to a voters roll.
"Each person will get an appointment, sign a consent form, get their first dose and appointment for their second dose, and proof of vaccination will be issued," he said.
"Data will be crucial. There is a national proposed computer application; we support it but if it is delayed we will have a contingency plan."
Cloete said vaccination would be voluntary and shots would be offered to people regardless of whether or not they had previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
The vaccine rollout offered a unique opportunity for closer collaboration between the public and private sector, he said, since health-care staff working in both sectors are to be immunised in the first phase of the plan.
Western Cape premier Alan Winde, who said last week that he would seek to procure additional Covid-19 vaccines independently of the national government’s efforts, said he had not yet had any success.
"I have taken it upon myself to try to find extra procurement for us," Winde said.
"We need to try and get vaccines into our system as quickly as possible. SA so far has only managed to get 1.5-million doses and of course we need far more than that," he said.
In addition to the 1.5-million doses committed by the Serum Institute, SA is expecting enough Covid-19 vaccines to cover 10% of the population from international vaccine financing vehicle Covax, expected during the first half of 2021.
Hospitals remain under "extreme pressure", but there are early signs that the Western Cape’s second wave of coronavirus infections had reached a peak and stabilised, Cloete said.
The test positivity rate, or the percentage of all tests performed that are actually positive, had fallen from a high of 50% to 35.6% on January 7, and there had been a 26% decline in the seven-day moving average of hospital admissions for Covid-19 patients in the week to January 7 compared with the week before, he said.
However oxygen consumption remained high, reflecting the large number of Covid-19 patients requiring breathing support. The health department had built up a buffer stock of oxygen, but oxygen manufacturer Afrox was still trucking in additional supplies to bolster the output of its plant in Kuilsriver, he said.
The Garden Route — the first Western Cape district to be declared a Covid-19 hotspot — had passed its peak.
The seven-day moving average for recorded cases, hospital admissions and deaths from the coronavirus were all declining, he said.
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