Alan Winde says the Western Cape will vaccinate 12,000 people per day next week — here's how

The Western Cape has set an ambitious target to vaccinate 24,000 residents per day in the next two weeks. This is according to Premier Alan Winde, who said on Wednesday the province is currently vaccinating 6,000 residents per day and plans to double this number next week to ensure a speedy process.

Winde said the province planned its ramp-up according to the number of vaccines it is expecting to receive on Thursday and in June. 

“We are also working actively to open more sites across the province so that residents are able to be vaccinated as close to home as possible.

“This week, we are aiming to open 33 additional sites, six of which are in rural areas. Next week, we aim to open another 49 sites, 36 of which are in rural areas. We are aiming to open a further 17 sites the week thereafter,” said Winde.

The Western Cape recently announced additional vaccination sites and introduced non-electronic means to register eligible residents in rural communities who do not have access to the internet. The 75 sites unveiled on Monday include libraries, clinics and community halls. 

Western Cape MP Wendy Philander said the electronic registration system was not conducive for the elderly in rural communities as many of them did not have the technology needed to register.

The department of health said on Thursday 282,135 people have received their first dose of the two-shot Pfizer vaccine since SA launched the second phase of inoculations a week ago.