You can now get the Covid-19 jab on campus at UCT, Wits and DUT: What you need to know

Students are getting vaccinated against Covid-19 as universities in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg launch on-campus vaccination sites in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. 

The University of Cape Town (UCT) on Wednesday called on students, staff and members of the broader community to protect themselves and those around them by getting vaccinated.

The institution launched its community of hope vaccination centre on September 1 to make vaccination accessible to all.

“UCT encourages everyone to get vaccinated as it helps to protect against the worst possible effects of Covid-19 and will, in turn, lead to a reduced impact on the health system. This is one way to help our already overburdened healthcare workers,” said the university.

Prof Shabir Madhi, dean of the faculty of health sciences and professor of vaccinology at Wits University, said vaccination significantly reduces the transmission of Covid-19 by up to 50%. 

He urged students not to fall for fake reports about the vaccine making the rounds on social media.

“The vaccine is the only sustainable manner in which we can go back to a normal lifestyle. It is to ensure that we can protect people, not only preventing people from being infected but also protecting them from developing severe disease and dying of Covid-19. The only thing that is available to us to achieve that goal is vaccines, despite what others may say on social media,” said Madhi.

The Durban University of Technology (DUT) incentivised the vaccination drive by offering 4GB of data to the first 100 students to get jabbed. The initiative, which launched on Wednesday, is in partnership with the provincial health department. 

Students and staff members getting vaccinated are required to bring their IDs and student and staff cards. The on-campus site will run for five days between September 8-15.