Cape Town’s health department has found a novel way of administering Covid-19 vaccinations— a new mobile initiative called “Vaxi Taxi,” amid the country’s fourth wave of the virus.
The initiative has been sparked by the emergence of the Omicron variant.
The program is a partnership between the Western Cape Department of Health, Accelerate Cape Town and Old Mutual. Four Vaxi Taxi ambulances have each been equipped to vaccinate up to 250 people per day and have the capability to administer both the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
“It will take a whole-of-society approach to conquer Covid-19, that is why I am pleased by the partnership between the Western Cape Government and Old Mutual to take vaccines to the people,” Western Cape Minister of Health, Dr. Nomafrench Mbombo told reporters in Atlantis this week. “It is also clear that to get more people vaccinated we will need to have a tailor-made approach. It can’t be one size fits all. With these taxis, we will be able to reach out to where people are and vaccinate as many people as possible. Thank you Old Mutual for this initiative.”
Sudan is not the first country to launch the initiative.
London kicked off the program in February in response to the issue question of vaccine equity.
The capitals black cabs provide transport to local vaccination centers, but also the taxi itself functions as a health and vaccination center.
“Creating a transport-related initiative solves a logistical problem for people shielding who cannot pay for private transport, but it has evolved to become much more than this,” said Dr. Raymond. “We are talking about the homeless, people with learning disabilities, sex workers, those with uncertain immigration status. Giving identification numbers and filling in IN forms for many people is not an option. Vaxi Taxi provides another option.”
