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- Not even a quarter of the targeted pensioners have registered for the J&J vaccine.
- About 247 149 pensioners have registered for vaccination.
- Vaccination will begin on Monday.
Less than a quarter of the targeted 1.3 million Gauteng pensioners are waiting for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine jab.
The Gauteng health department announced that it was ready to implement Phase 2 of the vaccination process.
The province is targeting over 1.3 million pensioners.
The rollout will start on Monday, beginning with pensioners in old age homes.
The department also promised to thoroughly engage with elderly citizens sceptical about the vaccine.
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On Wednesday, Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi personally spoke to some pensioners about reports that the virus caused blood clots.
"It takes time to convince our clients and explain the benefits of vaccination. Some have registered and others will join later. Interacting with elderly citizens needs patience and time. They are delicate and ask many questions.
"We can't force them to take the vaccine. Ours is to convince them about the benefits of vaccination. We also give them time to apply their minds," Mokgethi said.
The department deployed more than 10 000 community healthcare workers, community development workers and social workers to visit pensioners in their homes.
"Registration started on 20 April across the province. We are implementing our plan to increase demand for our vaccination programme.
"Vaccination is a safe and effective way to prevent disease and save lives. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine provides the best chance of reducing new infections, severe illness, hospitalisation and death," Mokgethi said.
Mokgethi, meanwhile, said the province had sufficiently prepared for the third wave.
"The severity of the third wave will depend on us avoiding super-spreader events and adhering to non-pharmaceutical interventions," Mokgethi said.
