Coronavirus vaccine rollout to open for those aged 35-49

Acting health minister Mmamoloko Kubayi on Friday announced that people aged 35-49 could register for Covid-19 vaccination from July 15.

She also said the government was working towards getting people vaccinated at weekends. People over 50 began receiving the jab from the beginning of July, after the rollout to health workers, over-60s, teachers and police.

In June, Kubayi said the government was considering opening the Covid-19 vaccine registration portal for people aged 40 years and older. This was because “they are active, they move and all those things — we are looking at that”, she said.

“We would like to see the 40-plus registration open in the coming weeks so we can start making sure we vaccinate the people that are active and moving, so we can save our economy as well.”

Meanwhile, Business for SA has welcomed the decision. Martin Kingston, chair of the B4SA steering committee said: “The only way to fight the third wave, save lives, restart the economy, and lift restrictions on our way of life is to vaccinate the nation as quickly as possible. Vaccinating everyone aged over 35 protects those most at risk from serious illness, hospitalisation and death due to their age, and ensures the protection of the working-age population, which helps to manage the economic impact of the pandemic.

“We are also very pleased that the Treasury and the department of health have agreed to release funds to ramp up weekend vaccinations in the public sector. We now need to quickly secure more vaccine supply so we have enough to meet demand. Business is working with government to cut red tape, secure more vaccines, and bring many more hundreds of vaccination sites on stream in the coming weeks. With enough vaccine supply and all sites vaccinating seven days a week, we can reach our target of administering 300,000 jabs a day.