Our top priority is ensuring that we get as many people over 50 years old vaccinated by the end of the year

9 November 2021  

With the December holidays fast approaching, we need to ensure that we get as many people 50 years and older vaccinated. This is because this group is most vulnerable to severe COVID-19 illness that may lead to hospitalisation and death.

Increasing access to vaccinations for this group, especially in low take-up areas, will be the primary focus of the Western Cape Government over the next month.

To date, 58.24% of those in this high-risk age group have been fully vaccinated and 6.04% are partially vaccinated. This means that 35.72% of people in this age group remain unvaccinated.

If you are over 50 and are still hesitant about getting vaccinated, please chat with your local doctor or nurse and ask them questions. All questions are welcomed, and these experts will give you the data and information you need to make an informed decision.

If you have so far been too busy to visit a vaccine site, I want to reassure you that it is a quick and easy process. It should just take 30 minutes of your time, and there are many sites near to where you live.

Vaccines save lives, and by protecting our healthcare system, they save jobs too. I encourage you to take up your vaccination opportunity as soon as you can.

“COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths continue to decline”

COVID-19 hospital admissions and deaths are continuing to decline. Our healthcare platform shows us that across the province:

Case numbers continue on a downward trend.

The proportion of positive COVID-19 tests has decreased to just 2.4%.

We are currently seeing an average of around 52 new diagnoses, 15 new admissions and 2 deaths each day. This is the lowest it has been when compared to the period between the first and second wave, and the period between the second and third wave.

Insofar as our acute service platform is concerned:

The Metro hospitals have an average bed occupancy rate of 90%; George drainage area hospitals are at 69%; Paarl drainage area hospitals are at 69% and Worcester drainage area hospitals are at 75%. Critical care bed occupancy rates for designated COVID-19 beds for the province are at 23%.

COVID-19 and person under investigation cases currently make up 4% of all available acute general hospital capacity in both Metro and Rural Regional Hospital drainage areas.

COVID-19 inter-mediate care: the Brackengate Hospital of Hope currently has 21 patients or a 6% bed occupancy rate, and Sonstraal and Freesia & Ward 99 both have no patients.

This shows that our healthcare platform is coping well. According to the South African COVID-19 Modelling Consortium’s predictions, actual cases continue to align with predicted numbers for the past week with ongoing low case numbers expected for the coming week.

“Western Cape to begin rolling out booster shots to healthcare workers tomorrow”

From tomorrow, the Western Cape Government will begin the national rollout of the Sisonke 2 programme as part of its Phase 3b implementation study. The programme will provide healthcare workers with booster shots, should they wish to receive them.

All healthcare workers who were vaccinated as part of Sisonke 1, between 17 February and 16 May 2021, will be eligible to participate in Sisonke 2 at selected vaccination sites. This will ensure that healthcare workers are offered additional protection from severe COVID-19 disease and death in subsequent waves.

Healthcare workers will be offered a booster dose of the J&J Vaccine but should they prefer, will also be able to access a Pfizer booster dose within a few weeks once the necessary approvals have been granted by SAHPRA and the National Department of Health.

“Western Cape Government continues to conduct targeted vaccine rollout interventions to improve vaccine coverage in low uptake areas.”

The Western Cape Government is continuing in its efforts to conduct a targeted roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines, ensuring that it reaches those unvaccinated persons who, well wanting to get vaccinated, have not yet done so.

We are particularly focusing on communities where there is lower uptake, including Mitchells Plains and Khayelitsha, where we are providing platforms for residents to engage directly with doctors, so they can ask their questions.

We are also continuing in our door-to-door interventions, erecting pop-up vaccine sites in targeted areas such as SASSA stations or voting queues, and we are even offering transport to persons in these communities to nearby vaccine sites.

By 8 November 2021, the total number of adults who had received at least one vaccine was 2 377 514 people or 48% of the adult population. We have also fully vaccinated a total of 1 950 316 people or 39% of those 18 years and older. 

“We commend the Overberg on its vaccine uptake among over 50s and we will continue to target communities with low uptake.”

We are making significant strides in the registration of residents for their vaccines and particularly in the vaccinations of persons over 50 years, but there is a lot of work to be done.

In particular, I want to commend Overberg on having the highest number of those 50 years and older fully vaccinated, at over 70%. We will continue in our efforts to target communities with low uptake.

In terms of the total adult population vaccinated to date:

Of those 60 years and older, 63.49% have been fully vaccinated to date and 5.56% are partially vaccinated;

Of those between 50-59 years, 52.69% have been fully vaccinated to date and 6.55% are partially vaccinated;

Of those between 35 – 49 years, 41.57% have been fully vaccinated to date and 8.47% are partially vaccinated; and

Of those between 18 -34 years, 24.41% have been fully vaccinated to date and 10.40% are partially vaccinated.

In those over the age of 50 we have already fully vaccinated:

56.0% of those 50 years and older in the Province;

54.6% of those 50 years and older in the Metro;

55.2% of those 50 years and older in the Cape Winelands;

55.1% of those 50 years and older in the West Coast;

70.4% of those 50 years and older in the Overberg;

62.4% of those 50 years and older in the Garden Route; and

40.8% of those 50 years and older in the Central Karoo.

“It’s never been easier to get vaccinated. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity, please ensure that you do so as soon as possible.”

It has never been easier or quicker to get vaccinated. The entire process takes on average 30 minutes – including observation time. You can simply walk into any one of our vaccine sites where you will be assisted.

We can vaccinate up to 200 000 people a week or 40 000 people a day. There are enough vaccines available, and I encourage you to make use of your vaccine opportunity, which is our best defence against severe illness and death.

If you are unsure, or anxious, please speak to a healthcare worker at your local clinic. We want to help you make an informed choice, by providing you with the facts that you need to do so.

Issued by Western Cape Office of the Premier, 9 November 2021