Vaccinating
the nation

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to impact the country and its people over the past year, particularly during the second and third waves of infection. The restrictions imposed on economic activity and freedom of movement during varying stages of lockdown continued to change consumer shopping patterns and significantly reduced customer footfall in malls.

Clicks Group recognises that the fastest and safest way to economic recovery from the damaging effects of the pandemic is to vaccinate as many citizens as possible, in this way protecting lives and helping to accelerate growth.

The group therefore committed to support the government’s national vaccination programme from the start by making its pharmacies available as vaccination sites to ensure access to all people living in South Africa.

As the availability of vaccines improved, the programme gained momentum and by year-end Clicks had administered 596 180 vaccinations across 300 Clicks stores.

Capacity continued to be expanded through the opening of additional sites, with Clicks reaching 531 sites and administering over 1.5 million vaccinations by the end of October 2021.

As the largest private-sector vaccination provider in South Africa, Clicks has the capacity to administer 600 000 vaccinations each month.

The convenience of the Clicks pharmacy network and the quality of the specialist healthcare staff have been the major drivers of the success of the vaccination programme.

Extending the convenience of the vaccination service, Clicks launched its online Covid-19 vaccination booking portal “bookings.clicks.co.za” in August which allows customers to book appointments at their nearest Clicks vaccination site.