​Rofhiwa Marubini 
Phase two of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout programme is set to start Monday, 17 May 2021, where over 16.5 million South Africans will be prioritised for vaccination based on age and their risk of infection.
On Sunday, 02 May, South Africa received the first batch of 325,260 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech's double-shot vaccines. 
Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize said the country is expecting approximately the same number of doses to arrive on a weekly basis to total more than 1.3 million doses by the end of May.
During phase two of the vaccination rollout programme, essential workers, persons who are 60 years and older and persons who are 40 years and older with co-morbidities, will be vaccinated. 
People who are 60 years and older are encouraged to register on the Electronic Vaccination Data system to get a vaccination appointment at the nearest vaccination site.
Community healthcare workers will register those who are unable to leave home or do not have internet access and arrange for them to be vaccinated.
To ensure supporting infrastructure is in place, over 2000 vaccination sites have been identified across the country. These include general practitioners' rooms, community clinics and pharmacies, retail outlets and in some instances, larger facilities like stadiums and conference centres.
SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) chairperson, Professor, Helen Rees said: "By vaccinating people we are also going to have an impact on emerging variants, so getting this now is incredibly important." 
The aim is to finalise phase 2 by the end of October 2021.​