W Cape Covid peak flattening, upping vaccination rate

WESTERN CAPE NEWS - There are early signs of a flattening of the peak of the third Covid-19 wave in the Western Cape and there is a decline in the proportion of positive tests.

Hospitalisations are also levelling out, according to Western Cape head of health Dr Keith Cloete.

"Hospitalisations continue to increase in the public sector, but the percentage of increases is smaller. The private sector hospitalisations seem to have reached a plateau."

Speaking during the weekly digital conference on Thursday 5 August hosted by Premier Alan Winde, Cloete said the province was probably "sitting on the peak" last week, but it can only be confirmed once the following week's figures are out.

Giving an update on hospitalisations and deaths, Cloete said deaths in the province are still increasing.

Not enough people have received their second dose of the vaccine to significantly impact numbers during the third wave, however, fewer vaccinated people had Covid-19 severely than the general population.
More than 60% of people over 60 years in the province have received at least one dose of Pfizer. This is 90% of those who registered for vaccination. From 1 September, the electronic vaccination data system will open up for the age category 18 to 34 years.

Cloete said the impact of vaccination on healthcare workers (HCWs) is evident in the third wave. In July, 1 256 were infected compared with 1 917 in June last year (second wave peak) and 2 305 in December (third wave peak). They received the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine. Infections were also much milder. Of all staff in the Health Department, 68,97% has been vaccinated and the aim is to take that up to 80% in the next four weeks.

Vaccine rate to be upped
From Friday 6 August, the Western Cape is receiving 246 600 vaccine doses (117 000 Pfizer and 129 600 J&J), which will enable the Health Department to up the pace of vaccination considerably, said Cloete.

On the first three days of last week, 2 to 4 August, 30 000 doses were administered daily, but the department was limited because of a shortage of vaccines. However, it is expected that vaccination sites will have significantly increased stock this week. Workplace sites are also coming online.

The province has administered over 1,2 million vaccine doses (72% in the public sector and 28% in the private sector). More than 450 000 people have been fully vaccinated. The Garden Route boasts the highest number of people per 100 000 of the population that have received a dose (just over 27 000), compared with just over 26 000 per 100 000 in Cape Town, that is second.

The Johnon & Johnson vaccine has had a positive impact on the number of infections among healthcare workers in the Western Cape.