South Africa is in a race against time to vaccinate as many people as possible amid signs the virus may be surging again with the approach of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, when people spend more time indoors, typically allowing for more spread of disease. It is also a critical front in the fight against the virus in Africa, with South Africa recording 40 per cent of the continent’s Covid-19 deaths, AP reports.

Since January, South Africa has vaccinated nearly 500,000 of its 1.2 million health care workers and now is adding its older citizens to the campaign. In the past two weeks nearly 200,000 have received the Pfizer jabs with instructions to come back in six weeks to get their second dose.

“I am getting the vaccine because I want to be alive,” 76-year-old Elizabeth Mokwena said. “I know it’s the best thing for me to do against this Covid.”

After a plateau of the disease that lasted a few months, South Africa’s new cases, hospitalisations and deaths are trending up.