UCT has launched its Covid-19 vaccination site on Monday August 30.
The UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre – run in collaboration with the provincial health department – is at the university’s Forest Hill residence complex in Mowbray.
“We want our students, staff members and all of the community members in our vicinity to have the protection the vaccine provides against the worst possible effects of Covid-19,” said UCT vice-chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng.
Premier Alan Winde, who was at the launch, said the site could vaccinate 75 people an hour and would serve all members of the public, not only the university students.
“The launch of this site will also go a long way in supporting students, who typically form part of the 18-34-year-old age group, in getting vaccinated in a safe and convenient setting. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused great loss for many people in the province,” he said.
“To those young people who have not yet been vaccinated, I encourage you to make use of your vaccine opportunity so that we can once again do the things we love, be with the people we love, and go to the places we love.”
Health MEC Dr Nomafrench Mbombo said: “I thank UCT for opening its doors to vaccinate their students, their staff and also opening the facility for the community at large.”
It was vital to work together to beat the pandemic, she said. “We need collaborations that will ensure that we vaccinate many people within a short space of time thus ensuring that we save many lives and we save the fragile health system and the health-care workers that are on the brink of burn out.”
More than 2 million people were vaccinated in the Western Cape as of Tuesday August 31, according to provincial health department data. There have been 18 330 Covid-19 deaths in the province.
The site at 95 Main Road, Mowbray is open on weekdays.
