By Sue Maclennan
With 48 432 people fully vaccinated for Covid-19 through its public and private health services, Makana remains well ahead of other Eastern Cape local municipalities and metros – at least percentage-wise. The statistics come as Rhodes University goes ahead with its policy that staff, students and service providers must be vaccinated to access the campus, and as Wits University Vaccinology Professor Shabir Madhi confirms that a turning point has been reached in the pandemic.
A total of 63 910 people must be vaccinated for the Makana municipal area to achieve its targeted coverage. According to the Department of Health, as of 1 March, Makana was 76% of the way to that coverage. Makana Municipality includes Makhanda, Alicedale, Riebeeck East, Salem, Seven Fountains and Fort Brown. Neighbouring Ndlambe, has achieved 31% coverage of its 54 473 target population to date.
The Sarah Baartman District as a whole has so far achieved a 46% vaccination rate. Closest to Makana percentage-wise is Nelson Mandela Bay Metro at 60% – but with a target population of 380 454, nearly six times bigger.
The numbers come from the Department of Health’s records as of 1 March 2022.
In October, the World Health Organization set a target for countries to vaccinate 70% of their populations by mid-2022. According to Covidvax.live 17 389 328 South Africans, or 28.96%, were fully vaccinated by 5 March 2022.
This week, Shabir Madhi, Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand and Director of the South Africa Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, says South Africa has reached a turning point in the pandemic.
The article published in The Conversation says new research on seroprevalence (Covid-19 antibody levels), hospitalization and excess deaths attributable to Covid-19, indicate that South Africa is moving into the recovery phase of the pandemic. In order to continue on this trajectory, Madhi says, vaccine coverage must be enhanced, primarily focusing on high-risk groups.
Earlier this week, an application for an urgent high court interdict to stop the implementation of Rhodes University’s mandatory Covid-19 vaccine policy was struck off the roll with costs.
Tags: Covid-19, Makana, Makhanda, vaccination
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