THE KwaZulu-Natal government shrugged off fears of corruption regarding Covid-19 vaccine distribution.
In a press briefing held on Tuesday to give updates about the recently arrived vaccines from the Serum Institute of India, Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said there won’t be any new tenders or procurement processes.
“There was one process and that was conducted by the national (government). National engaged the different pharmaceutical companies in terms of the procuring of the vaccine itself and then made sure there will be distribution in centres, provinces and districts. Beyond that as a province we will not be involved,” she said.
Simelane-Zulu said the province will have a decentralised rollout plan meaning that vaccine doses will be stored in centres in each district in addition to a central depot in Durban.
“These centres are not new, (they) are where we always receive medicine, vaccines there is absolutely nothing new that we have to do,” she said.
The vaccine rollout strategy will be divided into three phases, the first phase will be prioritising healthcare workers, clinical and support.
According to the provincial government this is about 163 256 people, a majority of which are based in Durban.
ALSO READ: KZN ready to welcome learners, says KZN Premier
Simelane-Zulu said for the first phase, the department won’t be requiring additional staff but 2000 nurses have been trained in preparation for the second and third phases.
The second phase will prioritise elderly people, people with comorbidities, teachers, taxi drivers, prisoners and so on.
While the third phase will be the rest of the country until about 80 per cent of the country is vaccinated.
Sihle Zikalala, Premier of KZN, echoed Simelane-Zulu’s sentiments that healthcare facilities have been dispensing vaccines for a very long time and there’s no need for concern.
“The Provincial Command Council will support, monitor and perform oversight over the vaccine roll-out process. All District Command Councils, led by MEC’s and Mayors will spend time in districts for the duration of the roll-out and ensure daily accountability and hands on support,” he said.
The vaccines are expected to reach Durban on 14 February.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
Do you want to receive news alerts via Telegram? Send us a message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple
