 South Africa will open up COVID-19 vaccination to those aged between 18 and 35 years old from Friday. The government has said in a statement as it tries to ramp up its immunisation drive. The country has recorded the most coronavirus infections and deaths on the African continent but it has so far only fully vaccinated less than 8% of its population of 60 million. South Africa will open up COVID-19 vaccinations to those aged between 18 and 35 from Friday. The government has said as it tries to ramp up its stalled immunisation drive. The country has recorded the most coronavirus infections and deaths on the African continent but so far it has only fully vaccinated less than 8% of its 60 million population. Bureaucratic failures, bad luck and onerous negotiations with pharmaceuticals companies have all contributed to South Africa's slow start. Healthcare workers were vaccinated from mid-February and the elderly from mid-May. Over 35s became eligible at the start of August. The latest announcement made in a statement on Thursday comes as the government targets at least 300,000 COVID-19 vaccinations a day by the end of the month. In the latest 24-hour period it managed 195,000 according to a health department website. South Africa aims to have given at least one vaccine dose to 35 million people by December, compared with roughly 7.7 million now. Don't forget to hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates.