COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign for healthcare workers in a low-resource setting: A clinician-driven initiative

Abstract

COVID-19 vaccination has been globally accepted as a critical public health response measure to prevent severe disease and death, alleviate strain on healthcare systems, and prevent onward transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The South African Department of Health’s plan to vaccinate 1.25 million healthcare workers through the Sisonke Early Access Vaccine Rollout for Healthcare Workers presented both opportunities and challenges in terms of designing and implementing a mass vaccination roll-out in the resource-limited state sector. We present our experiences and challenges from the largest hospital in Africa, and hope that this will assist other institutions with planning successful COVID-19 mass vaccination campaigns.