I am thrilled with the announcement that vaccination clinics will operate 7 days a week from 1 August, following a meeting between the National Treasury and the Department of Health.
When we vaccinate more than 1 million extra people every month, because we vaccinate over weekends, then this will undoubtedly mean thousands of lives saved over the coming year.
Over the last few weeks, the DA has argued that the necessary funds to run weekend vaccination clinics are definitely available in the national budget. It just required leadership to unlock the funds and get this problem resolved.
Now that it has been resolved, this is great news for South Africa, and absolutely the right decision by government.
We are pleased that the pressure brought to bear by the DA and civil society in recent weeks has had the intended effect, resulting in today’s announcement.
We encourage every single eligible South African to please get vaccinated. It is the only way to get out of this pandemic, save lives, and begin to rebuild livelihoods.
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