Healthcare workers will be first in line as SA anticipates arrival of one million vaccines by Monday
By Zintle Mahlati
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Within a matter of weeks, healthcare workers will begin receiving the first doses of the AstraZeneca s Covid-19 vaccine, as doses are expected to arrive in the country on Monday.
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday night during a webinar on vaccine inoculation, that AstraZeneca s 1.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses will leave India, from the Serum Institute of India, on Sunday.
This announcement follows the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority confirming that the AstraZeneca vaccine had been approved for emergency use in the country.
While Covid-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories spread as rapidly as the infection itself, often spurred on by remarks made by high-ranking public officials, health advocacy organisation the African Alliance has filed a complaint with the Judicial Services Commission against Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng
These are Spotlight’s top 12 healthcare questions for the year.
1. Can government procure and effectively roll out Covid-19 vaccines?
Providing safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines to as many people as possible and as quickly as possible will be government’s biggest health priority this year. This will in the first place require that we rapidly procure sufficient volumes of appropriate vaccines. At the time of writing, South Africa had signed up to the Covax facility and made a deal with the Serum Institute of India for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Much more will be needed to get close to government’s target of vaccinating around 40 million people. Beyond procurement, the vaccination programme also poses a massive logistical challenge – arguably a bigger challenge than the roll-out of antiretroviral treatment, given that Covid-19 kills people much more quickly.