The vaccine roll-out began in all provinces on Monday, 17 May, notwithstanding challenges such as load shedding, protests and getting accustomed to a new vaccination process, said Health Minister Zweli Mkhize at the Royal Showgrounds mass vaccination centre in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday.
Mkhize said things were running more smoothly on Tuesday, and no severe side effects had been reported.
Among the challenges on Monday was load shedding. It created challenges with the electronic vaccination data system but did not affect the cold chain, as contingency measures were in place already, he said.
The electronic system recorded that more than 11,000 people had been vaccinated on Monday; however, all the manual records needed to be added into the system.
Fluctuating Covid cases in KZN a concern: Simelane-Zulu ecr.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ecr.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The process of vaccinating 16.5 million people in South Africa against Covid-19 by the end of October will begin on Monday, 17 May, as the national roll-out begins.
Provinces have admitted that the start of the Covid-19 vaccination programme will be slow. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, too, has acknowledged this.
The Department of Health has promised that 3,000 vaccination sites will be brought online during Phase Two of the programme. Those over 60 years old are able to register and receive a Covid-19 vaccine during Phase Two, which is scheduled to run from 17 May until the end of October.
Pfizer vaccines will be administered at 83 public sector sites and four private sector sites from 17 May, according to Mkhize on Sunday evening during a press briefing. He was joined by the health MECs of all nine provinces.
27 Covid-19 vaccination sites active in KZN, more to be phased in Updated
Nothando Mkhize
Supplied
KZN s readying itself for phase two of the country s Covid vaccine rollout - which officially gets underway from Monday.
MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu says under the Sisonke study, nearly 70 000 healthcare workers have received the shot, so far.
She says they ll start with 27 sites for now and phase others in as they gear up for phase three. The 600 that I am talking about also includes community halls and community centres that we are going to be utilising later on in the year. But the first 27 sites have been prepared for this purpose and those include our own facilities as the department of health.