So far 300 000 J&J doses, which arrived in the country on Thursday, will be sent to provinces to vaccinate over seventy percent of teachers in the country, including in the Northern Cape, which recently experienced a spike in the number of Covid-19 infections at schools.

OFM News previously reported that the Northern Cape Department of Education had to close 29 schools from June 1.

A total of 24 schools were later reopened for learning and teaching, whilst 5 schools remained closed by June 13.

Teachers will be vaccinated within 10 to 14 days - with the vaccination programme is set to start on Wednesday and will run until July 8.

The Basic Education Department’s Dr Granville Whittle meanwhile says sites have already been set up across provinces, and data was also collected.

“In terms of the implementation modalities that have been preferred by the Department of Health in the provinces, fixed sites will be used in the Western Cape, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Mpumalanga and Gauteng.

These sites have now all been identified, finalised and in some of the provinces such as the Eastern Cape and Free State they will probably use a hybrid model; so you will have fixed sites but you will also have mobile ones to reach into the far-flung or the rural areas,” Dr Wittle adds.

He says teachers who do not have medical aids will also be vaccinated.

OFM News