Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa, became one of the first people in the country to receive the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine against Covid-19 after it was administered to him and other healthcare workers at the Khayelitsha District Hospital.
Ramaphosa, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo and provincial Health Department Head Dr Keith Cloete among others were on hand for the highly-awaited inaugural jab at the Khayelitsha District Hospital, yesterday.
This comes just hours after the Johnson & Johnson vaccines arrived in the Western Cape.
The first vaccinations in the country took place at the facility with Tygerberg Hospital and Groote Schuur Hospital soon following suit, yesterday.
A total of 13 100 doses arrived in the province with 7 400 doses sent to Tygerberg Hospital and 5 740 to Groote Schuur for public and private sector healthcare workers (HCW).
Thirteen healthcare workers were vaccinated excluding the president and health minister, with 50 as of today, Thursday to be inoculated at the facility alone and with larger numbers of vaccinations taking place at Tygerberg Hospital and Groote Schuur yesterday, Wednesday, said Dr Cloete.
Here is a look at some of the vaccinations that have occurred, and others that have received their vaccines doses, in the country:
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala @sziks and @kznhealth MEC join healthcare workers as they receive the coronavirus vaccination.#VaccinesForSouthAfrica #WeChooseVaccination pic.twitter.com/2RF6NfkA67
WATCH: The CEO of Steve Biko Academic Hospital Dr. Mathabo Mathebula gets vaccinated. #WeChooseVacciNation #VaccineforSouthAfrica #SteveBikoAcademic pic.twitter.com/jE7Ila81d0
— GautengGov (@GautengProvince) February 17, 2021
It’s happening folks! This is Prof Lydia Cairncross one of Heads of Clinical Unit in Surgery at @UCT_news Faculty of Health Sciences & Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH) & a Social Justice activist from People's Health Movement South Africa receiving one of the first vaccines at GSH! pic.twitter.com/PBoulYYfLZ
— UCT Health Sciences (@UCTHealthSci) February 17, 2021
Our team members happily receiving the first batch of vaccine doses yesterday. A big shout out to everyone working around the clock to make sure the rollout goes smoothly #VaccinateSA https://t.co/oKVReC1FkT pic.twitter.com/51oNm7LkAH
Aurum Institute Rustenburg CRS Leader officially handed over a delivery note of #COVID19 vaccine to Premier Job Mokgoro and MEC Madoda Sambatha. The first inoculation with be administered tomorrow at JST Hospital and Klerksdorp Hospital.#ichoosevaccination#healthworkers pic.twitter.com/bRj7QKslGo
— North West Health (@NorthWestDOH) February 17, 2021
Ramaphosa said: “I have just had my vaccination and I must say that at first I was a bit terrified of this long needle that was going to be embedded into my arm but it happened so quickly, so easily, it was just a prick on my flesh and I really did not feel much pain. This day represents a real milestone for us as South Africans, that finally the vaccines are here and they’re being administered.”
Dr Mkhize said the occasion represented hope and possibility in defeating Covid-19. Dr Mkhize thanked all involved, who sacrificed many sleepless nights.
“There is a whole team effort behind the scenes. They have not slept a wink. They have worked so hard to make sure this works. We were put into a situation where we had to deal with plan B, which meant that we had to change from what we originally planned when we got surprising results...”
Dr Mkhize thanked healthcare workers (HCW) for risking their lives and remaining steadfast during this time.
“Our HCW have persevered and endured anxiety, panic, the fact of getting infection and infecting their families. I want to say to them that they are our front-line warriors, we need them protected, encouraged, we need to make sure that they are the ones that are safe so that our country can be safe.”
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize receiving the #Covid19 vaccine. #IChooseVacciNation #VaccineRolloutSA pic.twitter.com/ILb1OkVbfJ
— Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) February 17, 2021
The 80 000 doses approved by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority were distributed to over 32 sites across the country.
Half a million doses are expected from Pfizer next month with a commitment of seven million doses for the country’s second doses, in July.
“As we sit now, we actually have enough doses in the pipeline to cover all South Africans based on the 40 million that we had spoken about,” said Mhize.
Mkhize said the AstraZeneca vaccines were placed on offer to African Union member states, and 25 countries globally have expressed interest in obtaining it.
A maternity ward nurse at the Khayelitsha District Hospital Zoliswa Gidi-Dyosi was the first in the country to receive the vaccine.
“I am the first nurse who received the vaccination today, at the moment I don't feel anything. I am still Zoliswa, I am still okay. At first I was nervous, but I was happy. It's hurting, but (only) a bit.”
The South African Medical Research Council president Professor Glenda Gray led the J&J ensemble study with Professor Linda-Gail Bekker.
Gray said: “The ensemble study was the study that showed us that this vaccine could work in SA. In October, we started to enrol in the study and we enrolled in all places of the world, Latin America, SA and America and we enrolled at the time of the second wave, so when we got our results at the end of January, we could see that our vaccine worked with the new variant and we knew with certainty that this vaccine could work in SA.”
Cape Argus