Many vaccination sites are now welcoming walk-ins for Covid-19 vaccinations.
Registration is not a requirement and those who show up at the sites, without registering, will assisted through the process. Most sites will help you to get registered when you arrive, but that depends on individual site’s capacity (so you have an SMS that says that you’ve successfully registered).
Pre-registration on the national Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) is, however, advised for those that can, as this will allow them to get their vaccines quicker.
Business for South Africa (B4SA), an alliance of South African volunteers, working with the government and other social partners, to mobilise resources and capacity to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, said independent community pharmacies, private pharmacy chains such as Dis-Chem and Clicks, private hospitals, and medical scheme vaccination sites, would administer doses to everyone eligible to receive the vaccine.
People living in South Africa can get the jabs, regardless of whether they have medical insurance, it added in a statement.
“Sites will accept anyone for vaccination, who has an ID (identity document), passport, or other form of identification, regardless of their nationality,” B4SA said.
In most places, there will be two queues: one for those with appointments and/or older people, and one for walk-ins, to ensure there are enough vaccines for those with appointments.
Large private providers, such as Dischem and Discovery, have announced that they will accept walk-ins from uninsured people. But in the case of Discovery sites, you can’t just turn up at the site, you need to register on their web portal to book an appointment (and also be registered on the EVDS). Dischem also encourages people to register on their site to book an appointment, but they do also help people who just turn up and are registered on the EVDS. Those people will, however, wait for longer to be helped, than people who had booked appointments.
Note that, in some sites, walk-ins may be prioritised in the following order:
Priority 1 - people 60 years and older, requiring their first dose of Pfizer vaccine;
Priority 2 - people 60 years and older, requiring their second dose of Pfizer vaccine;
Priority 3 - people aged 50-59 years, requiring their first dose of Pfizer vaccine;
Priority 4 – people aged 35-49 years, requiring their first dose of Pfizer vaccine.
Make sure to make your way to the vaccination site by 2pm, as most may be closed after that.
Remember vaccine stocks are limited, so walk-ins are not guaranteed to get vaccines.
For a list of active vaccination sites, click here.