Members of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), particularly retailers, are fully behind the Vooma Vaccination Weekends campaign, which starts today across the country.
This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call on leaders of all sectors of society and all South Africans to seize Vooma Vaccination Weekends as an opportunity to ensure the country pushes back the COVID-19 pandemic and achieves greater safety for all.
Speaking to SAnews, the CEO of the CGCSA, Gwarega Mangozhe, said that they will be participating by either providing vaccination sites or mobilising communities to embrace the importance of vaccination.
Mangozhe said they are also raising awareness about the benefits of vaccination through platforms such as in-store radio stations/announcements and social media platforms.
“CGCSA was one of the first business organisations to partner with the Department of Health (DOH) to assist in the COVID-19 vaccination registration process of persons 60 years and above. The assisted registration has been taking place at the premises of participating retailers, using the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) Self Registration Portal,” Mangozhe said.
The CEO said the initial focus of the partnership, which started on 3 June 2021, was on senior citizens who collect their social grants at participating retailers, and this was eventually extended to include other age groups as the vaccination rollout progressed.
“CGCSA welcomes the support of the retailers, as well as the commitment by the DOH, to ensure the success of this assisted registration programme, which will go a long way towards achieving the herd immunity needed to protect South Africans from the spread of COVID-19. This is particularly important as the country is expected to experience the fourth wave of the pandemic,” he said.
Vooma Vaccination Weekend
The Vooma Vaccination Weekend campaign is an inclusive national campaign supported by all social partners, faith-based formations, traditional leaders, organised labour and business.
The campaign is a countrywide drive to encourage people to get vaccinated.
South Africans and people who live in South Africa will have an opportunity today and tomorrow to protect themselves against COVID-19 in a nationwide mass vaccination drive hosted by government and civil society.
President Ramaphosa has written letters to various stakeholders to get them involved in amplifying government’s message to get people vaccinated during the weekend.
The target for this weekend is to vaccinate at least half a million people.
This will be the first Vooma Vaccination Weekend in a series of outreaches under this banner, in which leadership from across the political spectrum, civil society, traditional leaders, labour and business will mobilise communities to stay safe by getting vaccinated.
Government has assured citizens that vaccines are safe and easy to receive. They protect people against serious illness, hospitalisation and death.
Vaccines are also free of charge and during Vooma Vaccination Weekend vaccination, centres and points – including pop-ups, will be open all day on Friday and Saturday across the country.
Government reminded the public that even when vaccinated, they must still mask up, wash their hands, keep a safe distance and observe the regulations that apply under the national state of disaster. – SAnews.gov.za
