We'll vaccinate 67% of population in 21 days — Mpumalanga health MEC Sasekani Manzini

07 May 2021 - 07:19 By mandla khoza
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The elderly pay close attention as Mpumalanga MEC for health Sasekani Manzini delivers her speech during the launch of the electronic vaccination system in Verena.
The elderly pay close attention as Mpumalanga MEC for health Sasekani Manzini delivers her speech during the launch of the electronic vaccination system in Verena.
Image: Mandla Khoza

Mpumalanga health MEC Sasekani Manzini says the province will need only 21 days to vaccinate 67% of its people for Covid-19 when the jab arrives. 

Speaking at the launch of the electronic vaccination system, in Verena near KwaMhlanga on Thursday, Manzini said the province was doing well in managing the pandemic, as it has only 795 active cases.  

She said the second phase of the vaccine registration, which is targeting people older than 60, was well under way, and her department has also dispatched health workers to vaccinate them in their homes. 

“We are here to launch the electronic vaccination system for old people from the age of 60 upwards for the second phase of the vaccination programme. As the province, we are targeting 67% of the population and when the Pfizer vaccine arrives we will need only about 21 days and we will be done. 

In the whole province we have about 300,000 old people who are going to be visited by our healthcare workers in different places, at homes, public spaces and those who didn’t register we will not turn them away when the time comes,” said Manzini. Verena, which is under the Thembisile Hani local municipality, has only seven active cases of the virus. 

“At the beginning of this year we had our numbers increasing in the province, but now the numbers have dropped. Talking about the third wave, if we can adhere to the protocols, we will not have a problem on increasing numbers,” said Manzini.

The elderly flocked to the Verena Community Hall hoping to register for their shots, saying they have been waiting for a long time.

“When they called us here I was happy because we are going to register for the vaccine for Covid-19 to not kill us. But we have waited for a long time and we were scared,” said 78-year-old Jim Masilela.  

Hendrick Skhosana told SowetanLIVE that those who are scared of the vaccine must know that either way they will die. “I’m happy to be part of this programme. I’m going to vaccinate myself to not get sick from this coronavirus which is killing our people. I’m not scared myself. Those who are scared, thinking that they will give us poison, must know that either way they are going to die,” said Skhosana. 


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