Opening Covid-19 vaccination up to those aged 18 to 34 will bring about 17-million new people into the programme, Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has said.

As of Friday, those aged 18 to 34 are able to register and vaccinate. This was brought forward from the initial opening date of 1 September.

During a briefing on Friday, Phaahla said this would reduce red tape in the vaccination programme, streamline workplace vaccinations and bring the government closer to its target of vaccinating 70% of the adult population.

"We are now able to add 17-million adults into the vaccination pool. This can help us reach 70% of the adult population, or 30-million people," said Phaahla.

While this age group will be able to do walk-ins at vaccination sites, Phaahla encouraged them to register on the Electronic Vaccination Data System first to reduce waiting times.

This age group includes about 700 000 students, who are now eligible for vaccinations, added Phaahla.

Higher Health – the health, wellness and development centre of the post-school education and training sector (PSET) – estimates that as many as two million people could be reached through higher learning institutions.

"We are going to do our best to ensure the process is youth-friendly and to bring easy access to Covid vaccines, as well as correct and reliable information to our students and staff. This will empower them to be valuable messengers and influencers who can promote vaccine confidence to overcome vaccine hesitancy and positively mobilise families, peers and communities," said Professor Ramneek Ahluwalia, the CEO of Higher Health.

As of Thursday, more than 10-million vaccine doses have been administered, said Phaahla.

In the 60 and older age group, three-million of the 5.5-million strong population have received at least one vaccine dose, which translates to roughly 55%.

"Our wish is to reach 70%, so we still have some way to go," said Phaahla.

More than 4.6-million people are now fully vaccinated (12% of the adult population), with eight-million people (20%) having received at least one vaccine dose.

"This without the 18 and over group. We still have a long way to go, but at least we are somewhere on the journey," he added.

Despite the strides made in the vaccination programme, cases remained concerningly high in some provinces, Phaahla said.

"The third wave remains stubbornly in our midst. It's moving to coastal provinces, with Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal alternating with topping daily infection rates. The Eastern Cape is right behind them," he said.

"The worrying trend is that, overall, there has been an 18.2% increase in infections, compared to the previous week," he added.

Although hospital admissions have decreased across the country, alert Level 3 lockdown restrictions will remain in place, Phaahla said.

"We remain hopeful that we will start to see a decisive flattening of the curve in the next few weeks," he added.