NYAKALLO TEFU|
The Western Cape Education Department said on Thursday that it will open nine additional vaccination sites for educators on Friday.
This as teachers and non-teaching staff across the country get their first jab of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
“Over 2700 teachers and non-teaching staff will be vaccinated at ten sites tomorrow (Friday) this number will increase to over 4 300 on Monday,” said the department’s spokesperson Bronagh Hammond.
Western Cape education said over 500 teachers received their first jab on Thursday 24 June 2021 at a metro vaccination site.
READ: More than 48 000 people vaccinated on the first day of the basic education vaccination programme
“So far, 25 387 teachers and non-teaching staff have been informed of where they will be vaccinated,” added Hammond.
Hammond said the department is notifying schools directly based on the consent confirmations received.
The department said it is hoping to get a total of 55 200 vaccines for educators for now.
The vaccination of educators come at a time when the country is facing a third wave of the coronavirus with numbers in the past 24 hours at 17 493.
At the moment Gauteng is the epicenter of the virus, with 10 806 of the cases reported in the province.
Despite the numbers constantly increasing, learners and teachers across the country will continue going to school as instructed by the Department of Basic Education.
One of the educators, Ms Sasman, who was vaccinated in the Western Cape urged all educators to get their vaccines.
“I urge everyone of our eligible basic education sector staff members to take this opportunity to contribute to getting our schools back semblance of normality,” said Sasman.
Sasman said while the vaccine cannot stop staff members from getting Covid-19, educators still need to follow safety protocols to protect them from serious illness.
Western Cape education said it is happy with the rollout of vaccines and so far, everything has been going according to plan.
“We again would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Provincial Department of Health who have accommodated our needs thus far. Their support to this important cause is unwavering,” said Hammond.
