Durban - Unvaccinated voters will be able to make their mark and get their Covid vaccination on elections day, 1 November.
Speaking during his weekly press briefing, National Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla said vaccination pop up sites will be set up close to at least 1000 voting stations throughout the country, targeting mainly areas where the uptake of vaccination has been low.
He said the sites will be set up in the voting precinct but outside the area demarcated strictly for voting so that they don’t interfere with the main purpose of the day which is voting.
"We hope that this arrangement will offer convenience in that people will have travelled from their homes and they’ll can achieve both their vote and vaccination in one trip. We welcome the fact that political parties have no problem with this arrangement," he said.
Once a person has voted they can then proceed to the pop-up site to be registered and vaccinated. To make it even more convenient to have one trip, priority will be given to the use of the J&J vaccine which is a one dose, but Pfizer will be available if an individual prefers it or they are due for second dose.
"We thank our health workers who raised their hand to be on duty on this day and thank the IEC authorities for their support and cooperation," he said.
Nandos Chicken has donated R500 000 as an incentive for healthcare workers for a small competition on Election Day.
Nandos is offering 1000 vouchers valued at R500 each which will be awarded to members of 15 best performing teams in each province which means 135 teams spread equally in all nine provinces will benefit with each team member receiving the R500 voucher.
"We appreciate this gesture and hope other businesses will come forward to offer more products in appreciation of our hard-working health workers," Phaahla said.
In addition, Uber has also offered free rides up to R100 each for health workers who will be on duty on Election Day.
"We appreciate every form of incentive which encourages people to vaccinate. The list of pop-up vaccination sites will be available on the SA-coronavirus website an NDOH website," the Minister said.
Still on the incentive side I am happy to announce a pilot scheme valued at R26m designed to benefit 260 000 people over the age of 60 who will receive their firsts vaccination during the month of November 2021.
Those who fall within this group will qualify for a R100 grocery voucher called the Vooma Voucher which can be redeemed at Shoprite, Checkers and U-Save stores. This will be on a first come-first vaccination-first serve basis. The voucher will be sent via SMS to the cell number provided at registration.
IOL