DURBAN – South African Police Service management in KwaZulu-Natal has launched its Vaccination Drive at the Durban Central police station this morning. The Deputy Provincial Commissioner, Major General Phindile Radebe, led the vaccination campaign.

The launch in Durban will see 500 police officers receiving their vaccination in the first day. Thereafter, police will launch 11 other sites in the province as we target almost 30 000 personnel including reservists, security guards, interns as well as national units that are located within the province who will be vaccinated in KZN. We have also catered for police officers from other provinces, deployed for duties within KZN in this vaccination drive. Police will have one site at each District; however, Ethekwini will have two sites to cater for the large number of police officers stationed within the district.

The vaccination drive will prioritize members who are 60 years and above, members with co-morbidities, those members who are at a high risk of exposure to the virus especially operational members, cleaners and security guards. Police in the province will be working with other stakeholders including our medical aid partners, POLMED and GEMS to ensure compliance with all health related protocols at these vaccination sites. Police management in the province are confident that police officers will heed the call to get vaccinated as the SAPS works hard to limit the number of police officers that are infected and succumb to the virus.

We would like to bring it to the attention of our members that there would be some officials who will not qualify to be vaccinated. This includes:

– Anyone who has contracted Covid-19 in the last 30 days

– Any person who has received a flu vaccine within 14 days

– Any member who has been vaccinated prior to the SAPS vaccination rollout program commencing

The Deputy Provincial Commissioner, Major General Phindile Radebe who was the first to be vaccinated, expressed her delight as she interacted with police officers that joined the queues to be vaccinated. “The vaccine is our best defence against this deadly virus and we are pleased to be in a position to roll out the vaccine to police officials in KZN. We are optimistic that our employees will take up this opportunity to be vaccinated as we continue to fight this pandemic in KZN. We will continue to educate our members on the advantages of taking the vaccine and we call on commanders at all levels to lead the process in encouraging those that might be sceptical,” she said.

Source: South African Police Service