34,000 SA health workers register for Covid-19 vaccines on first day

The electronic vaccine data system self-registration portal is up and running with more than 34,000 health-care workers already registering for the vaccine, the national department of health said on Wednesday.

Health minister Zweli Mkhize said this was the beginning of a complete vaccination health information system from registration to certification.

“We are making excellent strides by leveraging off existing digital infrastructure and focusing our energy and capability on interoperability.”

Mkhize said the system can capture all relevant metrics of all South Africans who will be vaccinated.

He said it would also ensure those who are vaccinated are contactable and alerted to optimise adherence to the regimen and complete the certification process.

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“The system will then verify one is a health worker by checking against the data provided by the personal and salary system, private systems, facility data, employer data (for example, cleaning and security contractors) and other data from organisations and bodies that employ or regulate health-care workers.

“Therefore, while it is possible to register on the site if one is not a health-care worker, the system will automatically prioritise verified health workers for phase one.”

Mkhize said a health-care worker who has not self-registered would not be denied the vaccination.

“We would, however, encourage all health-care workers to register before the inoculation call because this will help us know how to refine our current allocations and provide enough vaccines to the right vaccine centres at the right time.

“It is a matter of national pride for us to offer a service that ensures our health-care workers are prioritised and inoculated in an efficient manner.”

Health workers are urged to self-register on the portal  vaccine.enroll.health.za.

Mkhize said it took less than one megabyte and about two minutes to complete the registration process.

TimesLIVE