The Western Cape health department has seen an increase in vaccinations this week, with 41 518 jabs administered in the first four days of the week compared to 34 571 in the previous full week (3 to 9 January).

"This is good news, but there is still so much more to do. Since the start of the new year, our weekly uptake has increased, though slowly, we are optimistic this will go back to where it was a few weeks back," the department said in a statement.

Currently, 4 563 935 vaccines had been administered, with 54% of the adult population having received their primary vaccine. More than 47% of adults in the province had been fully vaccinated.

As of Thursday, the two age groups with the highest level of vaccination are 60 years and older (67.44%) and the 50 to 59 age group (58.66%), with the 12 to 17 age group showing the worst numbers.

The department had also seen a similar increase in the uptake of booster vaccines.

"Since the announcement of the availability of booster doses for all eligible age groups, 23 044 people have already taken up this opportunity for added protection," it said in a statement.

The Western Cape was currently in the fourth wave with case numbers declining. However, it would only exit it once cases dropped to below 600 new daily infections, the Western Cape health department's head Dr Keith Cloete previously told News24.

As of Thursday, there had been 1 491 new cases in the province.

The department had also released data as proof of vaccination efficacy. It found fully vaccinated individuals had 3.8 times lower risk of dying of the Omicron variant than non-vaccinated individuals.