Following her successful registration on the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS), Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu will this afternoon receive her COVID-19 vaccine at the Randgate Clinic in Randfontein, Gauteng.

The Minister will be joined by the CEO of SASSA, Totsie Memela-Khambula and several other people who are at the age of 60 and above as part of Phase 2 of the Mass Vaccination rollout programme, currently underway countrywide.

Recent data from the Department of Health shows that five of the nine provinces, namely Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West have a positive-test rate of above 10%.

Minister Zulu is a member of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Vaccines which was established to promote mass vaccination and reassure members of the public about the safety of vaccines.

With the threat of the third wave on the horizon, Minister Zulu’s vaccination drive seeks to promote the public-health benefits of COVID-19 vaccines and to alleviate vaccine hesitancy.

Minister Zulu reiterated her call for all South Africans to continue to practice compliance with the prescribed non-pharmaceutical interventions: social distancing, wearing of mask at all times and washing of hands as prescribed.

“Getting vaccinated is an important part of the solution against the pandemic. We appeal to all South Africans across the country to strictly comply with all regulations and protocols,” said Minister Zulu.

Source: South African Government News Agency