- The CTICC is expected to open as a mass vaccination site in the next few weeks.
- The site hopes to administer around 4 000 doses a day.
- Another two mass vaccination sites are being planned for Cape Town.
The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) will be turned into one of three mass vaccination sites, the Western Cape health department has announced.
This comes after the province broke its record for the number of vaccines administered in one day when it gave 15 999 people the jab on Wednesday.
By Wednesday, the province had administered a total of 155 856 vaccines since the start of phase two of the vaccine rollout on 17 May.
The department is gearing up to administer 24 000 doses daily - a target it hopes to maintain until December.
The Western Cape is entering a third wave of Covid-19 infections, according to Premier Alan Winde and head of the Western Cape health department, Keith Cloete. | @nickymccain https://t.co/WDlre6QeDY
— News24 (@News24) June 10, 2021
The CTICC mass vaccination site hopes to administer between 4 000 and 5 000 vaccines a day and is expected to open within the next three to four weeks. It is anticipated that it will operate between 40 and 50 vaccination stations, with each station administering about 100 vaccinations per day.
It will operate in accordance with an agreement between the provincial government and the City of Cape Town, and contracts are expected to be signed with the CTICC.
READ HERE | Biden administration set to buy 500 million Pfizer vaccine doses to ship around world, say reportsWestern Cape Premier Alan Winde said: "Just over one year ago, our teams worked quickly and efficiently to convert the CTICC into the Western Cape's first major field hospital, our 'Hospital of Hope', and it became a place of healing for the thousands of residents who received life-saving treatment there."
"I'm excited to, once again, be working at full speed to open this world-class conferencing venue to residents across the city, enabling a radical increase in life-saving vaccinations. It is our intention for it to be a 'Centre of Hope' in our city and province within a few weeks."
Elri Voigt provides an update on an experimental Covid-19 vaccine currently in Phase I trials, and unpacks the science behind this vaccine candidate. | @Health24com https://t.co/YwHvTM53Ea
— News24 (@News24) June 10, 2021
In the coming week, the City will drive final preparations to complete the project before the end of June. The Western Cape government will be responsible for the management of the site.
Two more sites are planned for Cape Town; one on the Cape Flats in five to six weeks, and the other will be a scaled-up version of the existing Metropolitan Health/Momentum site that opened last week.
Mayor Dan Plato said there were detailed plans in place for the opening of several more mass sites in the Cape Metro.
"The City is excited to partner with the provincial government on these projects where we can so that we ensure that residents have better access to vaccines," Plato said.