Getting the Covid-19 vaccination could be your ticket to the next public concert in Newtown or to watch a live football match at Orlando Stadium again along with fans. 

Incentivising “nice goodies as we get to Christmas” and offering a phasing in of greater public access to mass social gatherings is the carrot Health Minister Joe Phaahla is dangling in front of those still stuck in vaccine hesitancy limbo. 

Phaahla has been part of a government vaccination push that has this week seen politicians and their entourages doing walkabouts and site visits across Gauteng. Deputy President David Mabuza, who has been visibly absent for weeks on a mysterious medical sojourn to Russia, visited Joburg’s West Rand earlier in the week. Phaahla and deputy health minister Sibongiseni Dhlomo meanwhile were at the Chris Hani Baragwanath vaccination site on Friday.

Phaahla’s “soft incentives” are expected to see greater collaboration with artists and sports as vaccination ambassadors to boost vaccination messaging. Government has been criticised for being too slow and still ineffective in promoting a visible and deep-impact vaccination campaign that is accessible and clearly understood in languages other than English.

As the minister and his team gave their media briefing on Friday there were dozens of boxes of unopened vaccination poster packs stacked up against a wall — not yet on display. 

There was also just a slow trickle of people through the Chris Hani Baragwanath vaccination site that, at the start of vaccination for the general population in June this year, was one of the busiest and continues to offer weekend vaccinations.  

Stacks of unopened packs of government vaccination posters at Baragwanath Hospital, Friday 3 September, 2021. (Photo: Ufrieda Ho)

Fighting flagging vaccine demand, fictions on vaccines and a still off-target government vaccination programme are the priorities to get more jabs into more arms. The country’s third wave has already been unexpectedly protracted and lingers with slowly declining new infection rates and a death count of over 82,900 people.  

Phaahla, in his address, however, gave the thumbs up for vaccine stock supplies in the country and said the government has capacity to vaccinate the 300,000 people a day target to get closer to some degree of population immunity by the time the expected fourth wave hits at the end of the year.

He said that at present one-quarter of all adults in South Africa had received one jab and the total number of people vaccinated with at least one jab is closing in on 10 million.

Getting vaccinations to millions of others to keep people from becoming seriously ill or dying for Covid-19 will come down to combating “fake news”, misinformation and making it easier for people to vaccinate. The minister pointed out myths doing the round such as falsehoods that vaccines negatively impact fertility or that they compromise virility.

The public has been reminded that adverse effects following vaccination are being monitored through the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority and should be reported to the body, should they occur. 

In addition, Phaahla said the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) has been upgraded to be more user-friendly and includes booking options for specific time slots and vaccination sites and the option to reschedule. The number of vaccination pop-up clinics and drive-throughs facilities have also been ramped up and are targeted at places like shopping malls, taxi ranks and social grant pay-out points. 

See Thursday report here regarding provincial initiatives to vaccinate: Save our jobs, save our summer by getting the jab, residents urged at Athlone drive-through vaccination centre.

Developments around the newly detected clustering of genetically similar viruses, known as C.1.2, was also on the government’s radar. 

The minister said the mutated variant detected by South African scientists have been found in a small number of cases but has not been flagged as a concern at this stage. 

Also noted, he said, is the growing “society debate” around mandatory vaccination policies that have started to be implemented. More employers are insisting on mandatory vaccination of employees. Private enterprises are also starting to consider right of admission policies based on whether or not clients and customers are vaccinated. 

“From our side we want to mobilise and convince people to come forward voluntarily. We want to deal with their fears so they come to vaccinate at their own accord,” he said. 

The minister is expected to do his next “provincial vaccination support” visits in the North West and Mpumalanga.  DM/MC