The health department is set to release a storage and distribution tender for Covid-19 vaccines. This is for phases 2 and 3 of the vaccine rollout. The first batch of SA's vaccines are expected to arrive on 1 February. The Department of Health will issue a tender to store and distribute Covid-19 vaccines on 5 February, it said on Thursday, in an effort to speed up a vaccine rollout that opposition leaders and scientists have said is too slow. The qualifying bidders would be involved in phases 2 and 3 of the country's vaccine programme, the department's director-general, Sandile Buthelezi, told Reuters. Health experts, scientists and political rivals have accused the government of taking too long to procure and plan the distribution of vaccines against the coronavirus - a charge it rejects.