Week Four: A million Pfizer doses administered; Health department rolls up its sleeves without Mkhize

On Tuesday, 8 June, South Africa had administered more than one million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. 

• Eastern Cape: 88,224


• Free State: 55,687


• Gauteng: 264,986


• KwaZulu-Natal: 281,940


• Limpopo: 111,004


• Mpumalanga: 38,906


• North West: 55,267


• Northern Cape: 9,363


• Western Cape: 137,901

The department is “committed and capable” of managing the Covid-19 pandemic and scaling up vaccination despite Health Minister Zweli Mkhize being placed on special leave, according to the director-general of health Dr Sandile Buthelezi.

Buthelezi reiterated that this will be led by acting health minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane. Kubayi-Ngubane is the Minister of Tourism.

Buthelezi said an update on the roll-out will be provided during a webinar this week. He also promised that the department will launch an interactive dashboard for vaccinations “in the near future”.

In the Western Cape, an experimental Covid-19 vaccine now in Phase 1 trials has enrolled participants. The trial is being run by the University of Cape Town and began in March. Elri Voigt explains what makes this potential vaccine different from the rest.

Meanwhile, Gauteng released an updated vaccination site list. It now has 89 public vaccination sites and 40 private sites. To date, 499,533 people have registered for Phase 2 and Phase 1b.

Healthcare workers are helping the elderly to register in their homes and in other settings. Call 0800 22 88 27 for assistance with registration. DM/MC