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Residents of South African\u2019s richest province and the nation\u2019s\u00a0omicron epicenter\u00a0are rushing to get vaccinated, driving up national inoculation rates that were languishing before the sequencing of the new coronavirus variant.<\/p>\n
South Africa administered 175,395 shots in the last 24 hours, a 5.6% increase from Monday and 41% higher than the same period on Thursday, the day the nation\u2019s scientists announced discovery of the troubling new strain.<\/p>\n
Almost a third of the inoculations were in Gauteng, the country\u2019s most populous province.<\/p>\n
Fears about the new variant are helping reduce vaccine hesitancy – something President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s government hasn\u2019t managed to achieve. Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases have surged in Africa\u2019s most-developed nation, with authorities warning of an impending fourth wave.<\/p>\n
The debate over whether to make vaccines obligatory for various public places is picking up pace as omicron takes hold in the country, which has fully inoculated about a third of its adult population.<\/p>\n
In an address to South Africans over the weekend Ramaphosa said that while vigilance is important, the world has got to\u00a0learn to live\u00a0with Covid-19. Being inoculated is among the best options available to do that.<\/p>\n