On June 19, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga briefed the media on the education sector’s rollout plan for vaccination amongst educators.
The announcement has been welcomed by the Western Cape education department as they urge teachers in the province to get the jab to help make schools safer.
Western Cape MEC Debbie Schafer stated that education staff participating in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout would significantly reduce the chance of them becoming seriously ill and make schools safer, which would allow all schools to return to a normal timetable, reports News24.
“The department welcomes the announcement by the minister of basic education that the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) single dose Covid-19 vaccine for all education sector staff will begin in the coming week,” Schafer said.
“I urge all our staff to participate to assist in making our schools safer and getting back to some semblance of normality,” she continued.
While the education sector is providing educators with the option to be vaccinated, it will be voluntary. The vaccination rollout is expected to commence on June 23 until July 8 before schools close for the end of the second term.
Approximately 582 000 teachers nationally are expected to receive the jab within this two-week period.
With various sites located around the Western Cape, South Africa’s leading e-hailing service, Uber, has offered 100 000 free rides to ensure that teachers get to and from the vaccination sites, as per Business Insider.
“These will obviously be made available in the metros and we’re hoping to make a further announcement about the details of that particular process,” stated the department’s acting director general, Dr Granville Whittle.
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Picture: Cape Town ETC Gallery