Nearly nine million COVID-19 vaccine shots have so far been administered in South Africa.
On Wednesday, the National Department of Health said it was still chasing a target to have at least 35 million people immunised by the end of this year.
Government’s COVID-19 dashboard shows more than 8.8 million coronavirus jabs have been administered since February.
Of the vaccinated group so far, 60% are women and 40% men.
The department’s Dr Lesley Bamford said with a boost in vaccine stocks, they were aiming to inoculate a large number of people in the coming months.
“Hopefully, during the course of the day [Wednesday], we will reach the nine million target. We are very excited, because, for the first time, we are no longer vaccine constraint.”
Bamford said half of the 60-years and older cohort of around 5.5 million residents, have received at least one vaccine dose.
“We are urging all the people – those over 50 and 60 – to register to get vaccinated. Ideally, we would like them to register ahead of time but they can also present themselves at our vaccination sites.”
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