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JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- As the vaccination program got under way in South Africa on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa was among those first to be vaccinated at the Khayelitsha Hospital in Cape Town.
"Taking the vaccine was quick, easy and not so painful," he said after the vaccination, urging all healthcare workers to register in order to be vaccinated.
Ramaphosa said he was excited that the vaccination program had finally commenced.
"We are pleased that we are able to begin vaccination by mid-February, as we had announced. This is despite the fact that the AstraZeneca vaccine that we had procured for this purpose showed little efficacy against the 501Y.V2 variant that is currently dominant in South Africa," he said.
He said more people in leadership positions would be publicly vaccinated in an effort to encourage more people to get vaccinated.
"We have called on leaders in various sectors and parts of the country to lead by example and get inoculated publicly," he said.
The president said he hoped that through the vaccination program, population immunity would be achieved.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize received his COVID-19 jab alongside the president.
Nurse Zoliswa Gidi-Dyosiat from the hospital became the first medical worker to be inoculated.
"I'm happy to receive the vaccine today and I'm encouraging more people to take the vaccine today,"the nurse said.
Some 80,000 doses of vaccine from Johnson & Johnson which arrived on Tuesday night would be used to vaccinate healthcare workers across the country first. Enditem