Early last month (FEB) I registered with the Department of Health on their EVDS portal in advance of the Covid-19 vaccine arriving in South Africa. At the time, I had no idea which manufacturer would be acceptable to the South African authorities.
However, just last week, a colleague alerted me to a new link for the J and J vaccine under the auspices of the Sisonke Protocol which is available to healthcare workers.
Originally when I registered, my preference for having the vaccine was at the Rosebank Clinic in Johannesburg, a mere 10 minutes from where my consulting rooms are located. For the past week, I regularly phoned the Clinic and spoke to the sister in charge, Sister Nzimande. She is in charge of the vaccination programme there and was extremely helpful.
But each day when I called, she said there was no vaccination available at the Rosebank Clinic. Instead, she advised that I should go either to the Steve Biko hospital in Pretoria, or the Chris-Hani Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg.
For the full article, Getting Vaccinated: A therapists account. (therapyroute.com)