COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2023)

COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa

Total doses administered as of 20 July 2021
Native name	Sisonke Protocol (Phase III J&J)
Date	17 February 2021 - present
Time	(SAST (GMT +2))
Venue	3,338 vaccination clinics[1][2]
Location	South Africa
Cause	COVID-19 pandemic
Budget	R10 billion (Distribution 2021) R2.2 billion (Q1 2021 purchasing vaccines) R1.25 billion (Q2 2021 purchasing vaccines) TBA (Q3 2021 purchasing vaccines) USD $1,000,000,000[3][4][5]
Organised by	Department of Health (South Africa) & Government of South Africa
Participants	21,305,519 total doses administered 7,720,551 total doses administered of Janssen 23,718,577 total doses administered of Pfizer–BioNTech 13,584,968 people with only 1 dose of Pfizer–BioNTech 10,054,859 people with 2 doses of Pfizer–BioNTech 518,134 people with a booster dose (3 doses) of Pfizer–BioNTech (28 February 2022)
Outcome	46% of the South African adult population with at least 1 dose 46%
Website	South African Government

COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa is an ongoing immunisation campaign against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in response to the ongoing pandemic in the country.

Part of a series on the
COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 (disease) SARS-CoV-2 (virus) Cases Deaths
Timeline 2019 2020 January responses February responses March responses April responses May responses June responses July responses August responses September responses October responses November responses December responses 2021 January responses February responses March responses April responses May responses June responses July responses August responses September responses October responses November responses December responses 2022 January responses February responses March responses April responses May responses June responses July responses August responses September responses October responses November December 2023 2024
Locations By country and territory Africa Antarctica Asia Europe North America Oceania South America By conveyance Cruise ships Naval ships
International response Endemic phase Evacuations Face masks International aid Origin Lockdowns by country Misinformation by governments Fake treatments Social distancing Software Travel United Nations World Health Organization WTO IP waiver Undercounting of deaths COVID-19 apps Zero-COVID National responses Africa China European Union Germany Ghana India Ireland Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Philippines Russia Sweden UK government US federal government Vietnam
Medical response Disease testing Breathalyzer Development Drug development Drug repurposing Public health mitigation Vaccines History Research VITT Deployment Authorizations Operation Warp Speed Misinformation and hesitancy US Vaccine card Vaccine passports Current vaccines CoronaVac Covaxin Convidecia Janssen Medigen Moderna Novavax Oxford–AstraZeneca Pfizer–BioNTech Sinopharm BIBP Sputnik V
Variants Variants of concern Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Omicron Other variants Epsilon Zeta Eta Theta Iota Kappa Lambda Mu Cluster 5 Lineage B.1.617
Economic impact and recession Arts and culture Aviation Cannabis Cinema films Disney Fashion Financial markets Food industry Food security Journalism Music Performing arts Retail Shipping Television US sportscasting programs Tourism Video games By country Canada India Ireland Malaysia New Zealand Russia UK US By sport Association football Baseball Basketball Combat sports Cricket Disc golf Gaelic games Gridiron football Ice hockey Motorsport Rugby league
Impacts Animals Alzheimer's disease patients Black people Crime Death rates by country Disability Domestic violence Emergency evacuations Education Female Environment Hospitals Language LGBT community Long-term care Media coverage Mental health symptoms Migration Military Notable deaths Other health issues Politics diplomacy Popular culture Protests Pregnancy Prisons Religion Catholic Church Hajj Science and technology Social media Strikes Suicides Telehealth Xenophobia and racism Society Ireland Malaysia New Zealand Russia UK US
COVID-19 portal
v t e

On 17 February 2021, South Africa started its national vaccination program against COVID-19. The program will go through in phases, prioritizing healthcare and frontline workers and then those over the age of 60. According to health officials, South Africa has administered 38,717,957 vaccine doses across the country as of 27 March 2023^[update].^[6][7] South Africa has accepted delivery of 3 different vaccines, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca, administering both Janssen and Pfizer-BioNTech, with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine suspended, after a small study cast doubt on its effectiveness against the Beta variant.^[8]