Cape Town – Dr Davianne de Bruin, who is in the front line amid the Covid-19 third wave at the Brackengate Hospital, will be elated to know that the Western Cape – at 30.4% of the province's 4.9 million adults – has the highest percentage of vaccinated people in all provinces.
“My hardest moment at work is when I hope a patient will make it and then watching them not making it. It’s really not easy. But what brings me joy is watching people, our residents, recover and then getting to tell them that they’re going home to their loved ones,” De Bruin said after another nine-hour shift.
“We need people to support us by getting vaccinated. This virus is vicious, and we can’t predict how it will affect you. Vaccination is your best weapon to fight it.
“It’s really important to see this pandemic as something not just affecting you as an individual. It’s affecting everyone.
’’By practising the correct protocol, you are making a difference in not only your own life, but in everyone else’s lives.”
Last Wednesday saw the highest number of vaccine doses (51 882) being administered in the Western Cape and on Monday the province jabbed 41 940 people and 42 628 on Tuesday. Over 248 000 vaccinations were administered from Monday to Friday, amid indications of a drop in Covid-19 cases.
The increased demand for vaccines over the last two weeks is due to the vaccination programme being open to all people 18 and older, with younger people showing greater enthusiasm to receive the jab.
The national Health Department intends to vaccinate 70% of the country's 39 million adults, but as of Tuesday just under 24% (about 9.4 million people) had received at least one jab. The Eastern Cape had the second highest percentage of vaccinated people , followed by Mpumalanga with 26%.
In the Western Cape, 1 513 072 people had received at least one jab. Of those, more than 530 000 have been fully vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 93 000 with the single-dose Johnson & Johnson jab.
As at 1pm on Tuesday, the Western Cape had 34 042 active Covid-19 infections, with a total number of 493 404 cases to date and 441 032 recoveries. By 5pm on Monday, the Western Cape had administered a cumulative total of 2 000 869 vaccines to healthcare workers, staff in the education sector and those within eligible age brackets.
The current seven-day moving average is 82 deaths per day. Without the public’s support, overcoming the pandemic won’t be easy, especially as many healthcare workers are experiencing fatigue, said De Bruin.
“At work, you see a lot of burnout and exhaustion. It’s quiet difficult hearing stories from colleagues, admin teams, doctors and nurses at different healthcare facilities in the province and hearing that they’re not coping at times. The burnout is real and obvious among colleagues.”
You can register for vaccination by:
- Visiting
- Dialling *134*832# and follow the prompts (FREE on all South African Networks)
- WhatsApp the word REGISTER to 0600 123456.
For queries about registration, call 0860 142 142.
IOL