CAPE TOWN - Vaccination uptake in the Western Cape is increasing again, provincial health authorities said.
For the first four days of last week until January 13, the province administered 41 518 vaccines compared to the previous week between January 3-9, when 34 571 vaccines were administered due to the holidays.
“As the festive season draws to a close, we are starting to see our vaccinations administered starting to pick up again. This is good news, but there is still so much more to do.
“Since the start of the new year our weekly uptake has increased, though slowly, but we are optimistic this will go back to where it was a few weeks back,” the provincial health department said.
To date 4 563 935 vaccines have been administered with 54% of the adult population having received their primary vaccine, and of which 47.25% are fully vaccinated.
Of those 60 years and older, 72% have been vaccinated of which 67.44% are fully vaccinated.
In the 50 to 59 age group, 63.16% are vaccinated with 58.66% fully vaccinated.
In the 35 to 49 age group, 55.51% are vaccinated with 49.83% fully vaccinated and in the 18 to 34 age group, 42.52% vaccinated with 34.46% fully vaccinated.
In addition, 131 732 of those aged 12 to17 have also taken up their vaccination.
The province said it is also seeing a similar increase in the uptake of booster vaccines.
“Since the announcement of the availability of booster doses for all eligible age groups, 23 044 people have already taken up this opportunity for added protection.
“If you have already received your one J&J vaccine more than two months ago or your two doses of Pfizer at least six months ago, we encourage you to also go for your booster dose.
“The good news is you do not have to wait for a reminder SMS for your booster, but you can go to a vaccination site without it,” the department said.
Cape Times