Weekend vooma into vax programme

GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The CX region and Garden Route will be joining the nationwide Vooma Vaccination Weekend initiative this weekend, with Knysna and Bitou each to have one site open.

The Vooma Vaccination Weekend is taking place nationally from 1 to 3 October, and according to Western Cape Department of Health spokesperson Nadia Ferreira they hope to drastically increase the number of vaccinated people.

"The aim of this vaccination drive is to vaccinate 70% of adults [nationally] by the end of the year - that's 17 million more people. If we achieve that, projections are that we will save at least 20 000 lives," Ferreira said.

The Garden Route has administered 256 879 vaccines as at Monday 27 September. "The percentage of the Garden Route population over 18 years who have received at least one dose of a vaccine stands at 41%," she said.

"If you are 18 or older, don't wait any longer! Go and get vaccinated at a site near you. The vaccination is free to everyone living in South Africa, whether you are a South African or from another country."

In the Knysna sub-district, the Knysna Community Day Centre (CDC) is the site that will operate this weekend - it will be open from 08:00 to 16:00 on Saturday 2 October. In Bitou it will be the Plettenberg Bay Town Clinic. which will be open on Sunday 3 October for the same hours.

As at Monday, the Western Cape had seen 2 118 895 vaccine registrations (42,67% of the eligible population) while the Garden Route District had 193 043 people registered to receive the vaccine (44,57% of the eligible population). Knysna had notched up 27 571 registrations (54,45% of the eligible population) and Bitou 16 200 registrations (42,99% of the eligible population).