International guidance recommends that the vaccine go to those ‘most vulnerable’ first
Here’s why trying to decide who’s first in line to receive the jab in South Africa isn’t a straightforward decision
South Africa’s participation in the vaccine procurement mechanism, COVAX, is finally confirmed - but the details of a vaccine rollout plan for the country are still lacking.
Such a strategy will, among other things, guide us as to who will receive Covid-19 jabs first.
As an upper middle-income country, we will have COVAX’s help to secure vaccine doses from pooled supplies, but South Africa would have to finance the actual purchases itself.
Christelle du Toit We had on many occasions warned government that prolonging the irrational cigarette ban would only serve to encourage these criminal elements who have now clearly grown their resources and networks, FITA said. Picture: iStock
In a statement on Monday, the association noted and welcomed the judgment of the full bench of the Western Cape High Court on Friday, which held that regulation 45 of the lockdown level 3 regulations did not withstand constitutional scrutiny.
“The court further found Regulation 45 to be neither necessary nor that it furthered the objectives set out in section 27 (2) of the Disaster Management Act,” said FITA’s chairperson, Sinenhlanhla Mnguni.
South Africa’s participation in the vaccine procurement mechanism, COVAX, is finally confirmed – but the details of a vaccine rollout plan for the country are still lacking. Such a strategy will, among other things, guide us as to who will receive Covid-19 jabs first.
As an upper middle-income country, we will have COVAX’s help to secure vaccine doses from pooled supplies, but South Africa would have to finance the actual purchases itself. The Solidarity Fund – a private fund set up in South Africa to raise money from the private sector and individuals, to supplement funding for Covid-19-related initiatives – has agreed to make an initial payment of R327-million ($22-million) to COVAX to secure vaccines for about 10% of our population.