Clicks Pharmacy Manager Aaisha Barden administering Vaccine to Helen Skinner of the Constantia Place resident, Cape Town. Picture: Supplied.
Retailer Clicks announced that this week, it has started vaccinating the elderly at Proof of Concept (POC) pop-ups at The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) pay points in Umtata and Newgate in Johannesburg.
According to the retailer, this forms part of a public-private partnership pilot between B4SA, the Solidarity Fund, private vaccinators, and the Department of Health, and aims to reach the unvaccinated, uninsured population across South Africa.
Sassa currently has three million grant beneficiaries over the age of 60 years.
Clicks National Key Accounts manager: Public-Private Partnerships Bronwyn Macauley said: “The pilot programme was a huge success, and we expect it to be extended across South Africa in the coming months. Ease of access for those being vaccinated is a huge relief, and they were very grateful to see us, with a good pick-up of those wanting vaccination.”
“Many of our elderly population don’t have access to WiFi or know how to use the EVDS system, so we also helped them to register while they were queueing for their grants.”
Macauley, a pharmacist, said it brought her great pride to play a hands-on role in protecting one of the most at-risk segments of the community. “I feel really, really, proud to be part of this; I am doing something to make a real difference and save lives.”
The company said, as part of the national imperative to get as many individuals over 60 vaccinated as rapidly as possible, Clicks also commenced with vaccinations at old age homes in the Western Cape, in collaboration with the Western Cape Department of Health.
Clicks managing executive Vikash Singh said: “This forms the next phase of the vaccination rollout. We are working with the Department of Health to provide a turn-key vaccination service for those who have limited access to transport to vaccination sites".
He said Clicks sites had a tremendous influx of people since they began administering to those 50 years old and older, and now that walk-ins are allowed, he expected this number to rise significantly.
According to Clicks, walk-ins over the age of 50 (insured and uninsured) are now accepted at Clicks vaccination sites. Stores will manage walk-ins based on stock and availability of capacity on that day or a future date. Those eligible need to have registered on the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) portal.
Clicks said this week they had 120 vaccination sites live (with 60 approved last week) and has administered 60 000 vaccines to date.
"The pharmacy retailer expects to go live with another 180 sites on Friday 9 July, taking this to 300 sites nationwide," the company said.
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