​Rofhiwa Marubini 
Gauteng province has completed its first batch of 16 800 COVID-19 vaccines allocated for the vaccination trial, led by the Medical Research Council ahead of the set 14 days. 
This was announced by Gauteng Premier, David Makhura, during his visit to the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital on Friday 26 February to assess progress of the vaccination programme. 
This follows the launch of phase 3B of the vaccination programme led by the Medical Research Council (MRC) on 17 February 2021.
During his visit,  Makhura said: . "I have walked through the vaccination site and I can see that the health workers are relieved and happy".  
On Saturday, 27 February, South Africa will be receiving the second batch of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines from Belgium, which will push the total number of doses received in the first phase of government's vaccine programme to 160,000.
Premier Makhura concluded that the province has learnt a lot through the allocation of the first batch of the vaccine. 
"We will use these  lessons during  the mass roll-out", he concluded.