- The Western Cape Education Department says it has reached 84% of its target of vaccinating teachers.
- The department said they were overwhelmed by the positive responses received so far.
- The WCED is in the process of establishing how many staff declined to get vaccinated.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has nearly reached its target of vaccinating teachers in the province.
As of Tuesday, nearly 46 000 education staff members had been vaccinated.
Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for Western Cape Education MEC Debbie Schäfer said the education sector in the province had so far achieved 84% of its target in vaccinating teachers in the province.
"We again would like to show our appreciation to the provincial Department of Health, our district and head office employees, who have worked tirelessly to make this rollout a success," said Mauchline.
Mauchline added there were some challenges with the cold and rainy weather experienced in the Western Cape recently, and with staff arriving at sites at a time other than their scheduled appointment, but that did not stop them from wanting to get the jab.
Mauchline said the WCED had yet to collate how many staff overall in the education sector did not take up the offer to get vaccinated.
She added that the department worked on a consensus basis where they asked schools to submit names of staff that had consented to take the vaccine and had scheduled them accordingly.
"Once the process is over, we will work with the Department of Health to determine the numbers of those that have not been vaccinated in the sector rollout, and how many have been vaccinated through the 'over-60' and 'over-50' rollout. They would not have 'consented' as part of our drive, but have not refused to be vaccinated," Mauchline added.
The WCED said they had been overwhelmed by the positive feedback from across the province regarding the professionalism, friendliness, and efficiency of health workers at the vaccination sites.
The department added that most of the staff were patient and cooperative, and the atmosphere at the vaccination sites was one of "optimism and hope".