Crisp says this is disappointing because vaccines offer the best protection against a fourth wave of Covid-19. By vaccinating, people are protecting themselves. He also lamented the decrease in vaccination registrations, as yesterday there were only 53 000 registrations, which is a poor show in terms of how many people need to get vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla says the department is encouraged by the overall downward trend in Covid-19 numbers over the last 7 days, despite high figures in the Western Cape. He says hospital admissions, nationally have reduced by more than 4%. Phaahla says this has offered only a little relief to health workers, as the healthcare system is still under pressure. He added, the department is likely to have fully vaccinated around 4 million people by the end of today. More than 9 million doses have so far, been administered, with the Eastern Cape leading the vaccination programme.

At the same time, the chairperson of the National Immunisation Safety Expert Committee, Prof Hannelie Meyer says rare side effects of vaccines occur in only around one in a million. She says all vaccines in use have been approved by SAHPRA and are being continuously monitored.