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Dr. Jarrod Zamparini receives a vaccine.
- The Western Cape Health Department was instructed to investigate cases of people posing as healthcare workers to receive vaccinations.
- This follows a report that relatives of doctors were posing as healthcare workers or receiving vaccinations even though they were only administrative staff.
- As a safety measure, the department asks everyone to provide proof that they are healthcare workers before being vaccinated.
The Western Cape Health Department will investigate allegations that some people skipped the queue to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, after posing as healthcare workers.
According to an IOL report, some doctors have allowed family members to pose as healthcare workers to speed up their vaccination.
The incidents reportedly occurred at the Groote Schuur Hospital, with some people presenting false documentation or only working in administrative functions.
Western Cape Prime Minister Alan Winde said he has asked the health department to investigate the allegations.
“The current process for the implementation study requires the department to provide the vaccination sites, while the private health worker registry is being managed separately by the private hospital and GP groups,” Winde said.
He said:
We take these allegations very seriously and have also raised the matter with investigators. If these allegations are true, it is a clear and unethical violation of protocol.
Department spokesman Mark van der Heever said they had taken steps to close “loopholes” in the vaccination process.
“The department took immediate action as soon as it learned last week that some loopholes in the national electronic system could be exploited by people posing as healthcare workers,” he said.
“To add an additional layer of security, we now require proof that a person is a healthcare worker (either a job identification card or a Health Professionals Council registration number), in addition to identification at all vaccination sites. “
