17 February 2021
President Cyril Ramaphosa was one of the very first recipients of the vaccine. He received his shot from Sister Melanie Bennett at Khayelitsha Hospital. The vaccine used is the one made by Johnson & Johnson. Some South Africans would have already received the vaccine in Johnson & Johnson’s clinical trial, but Wednesday’s recipients in Khayelitsha are the first to be vaccinated as part of the state rollout of about 80,000 vaccines.
Sister Zoliswa Gidi-Dyosi, a registered nurse and midwife, was the first recipient.
Sa’ad Lahri, an emergency physician, was the second recipient.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize receives his vaccination.
A life-saving injection.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one shot and it can be stored in a normal fridge. It was shown in a clinical trial to reduce deaths and hospitalisations from Covid-19. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) is allowing the 80,000 doses to be rolled out under research conditions because there has not yet been time to complete the process of approving the vaccine for general use.