Times Of Swaziland: ELDERLY, PEOPLE WITH COMORBIDITIES VACCINATION STARTS MONDAY

ELDERLY, PEOPLE WITH COMORBIDITIES VACCINATION STARTS MONDAY
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Phumelele Mkhonta on 24/03/2021 08:14:00


MBABANE - The COVID-19 rollout plan is gaining momentum.
The elderly and people with comorbidities will be getting their COVID-19 vaccine
jabs as of Monday, March 29, 2021. This is according to Minister of Health
Lizzie Nkosi, who said this on Monday in Parliament, in her ministerial
statement on COVID-19 vaccines. The said group will get their Oxford/AstraZeneca
jab 10 days after the inoculation campaign was launched by Acting Prime Minister
Themba Masuku at the Mbabane Male Wellness Centre Clinic. Nkosi said the elderly
and people with comorbidities would be administered simultaneously with
healthcare workers. “Next week Monday on March 29, the vaccination of
healthcare workers will continue in parallel with the vaccination of the elderly
and those with comorbidities, followed by essential workers.
Forced
“No one will be forced to take the vaccine, however, we continue to plead with
all emaSwati to accept the COVID-19 vaccine to enable us to reach herd immunity,
protect the nation at large and protect our health system,” said Nkosi. The
minister said all clinics would be vaccination sites, stating that other
upcoming sites which were being prepared would be announced in due course. When
asked how the elderly and people with comorbidities, who did not have access to
registration links online would be reached, Nkosi said they would register on
the vaccination site. The link for online registration is
https://eswatinihealth.org/vaccine-registration.
“The registration process is in two parts. We have the online platform and the
manual one. Manual registration can be done on the vaccination sites,” said
the minister. Worth noting is that the announcement that the elderly would be
vaccinating next Monday came a few days after the elderly had expressed their
interest in getting inoculated promptly, citing that they were worried that they
would be exposed because of the reopening of schools. Schools are opening next
Monday as well. The elderly and people with comorbidities are in Phase I, Part
B, of the COVID-19 vaccination plan in the country. Health workers are in Phase
I, Part A. Essential workers are in Phase II and people above 18 are in Phase
III.