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Free baby vaccinations in the Western Cape

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During the month of May, South Africa highlights the National Polio and Measles Immunisation Campaign [29 April – 17 May]. The aim of this campaign is to encourage parents to ensure that their children are vaccinated to protect them against preventable and often life threatening diseases.

To support the goals of this campaign, Clicks is proud to have partnered with the Western Cape Department of Health to extend access to quality primary healthcare to all by providing free baby vaccinations and family planning medication at all Clicks Clinics in the Western Cape. A small convenience fee will be charged for the services. 

For families whose babies are born at state hospitals and where the family has no access to a medical aid, the Helping Hand Trust operates every Thursday afternoon, from 13h30 to 17h00, to provide these services at no cost to the patients. The Helping Hand Trust services also include baby feeding and nutritional advice, baby weighing, growth measurements and family planning advice.

To have a consultation at one of the selected Helping Hand Trust clinics, it is recommended that patients make an appointment through the Clicks national call centre to avoid any disappointment.

“Vaccination medication for babies in their first 18 months can cost more than R3 500. The benefit of this partnership is that the arrangement will enable our primary health care facilities to channel patients toward Clicks Clinics and shorten the queues at primary health care facilities,” said Western Cape Minister of Health, Theuns Botha.

For this convenience, patients will pay a small convenience fee of R75.00 for vaccines and R50 for the first time family planning consultation.  A follow-up family planning consultation will be R35. On Thursday afternoons, these fees are covered by the Helping Hand Trust for those who qualify.

“Increasing access to baby vaccinations and family planning services is crucial in preventing illness and reducing our country’s child mortality rate,” added David Kneale, CEO of the Clicks Group.

This partnership aims to make vaccines and contraceptives more accessible across the Western Cape. The stock is provided by government of the Western Cape to Clicks Clinics. The benefit of this partnership is that it enables the Western Cape Department of Health to channel patients towards Clicks Clinics and therefore reduce the burden of demand at primary health care facilities, enabling their health staff to attend to other pressing health needs.

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