Vaccine rollout: Why South Africa is gatvol with lockdown

South Africans have had enough.

Dissent against government’s slow vaccine rollout is gaining momentum with civil society and political organisations’ slew of attacks on the state’s credibility as lockdown restrictions tighten.

• President Cyril Ramaphosa is being blamed for not ensuring optimal use of the previous hard lockdown period to get the vaccine rollout and other Covid-19 response systems running smoothly.
• Demands for explanations on the recent announcement another hard lockdown on the country have been interspersed with threats of protest action.
• Unions have called for employers to be allowed to vaccinate workers while political parties are banging at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s door, demanding immediate action on the race against the deadly delta variant pushing South Africa’s third wave of Covid-19 infection to unprecedented heights.

ALSO READ: Alcohol ban: Here’s what government could do instead

Government isn’t buying vaccines fast enough

“South Africans have been left at the mercy of a government with blood on its hands because of the state’s ideological determination that only the national government should be allowed to procure vaccines.

“While I understand the practical preference that is also held by some vaccine manufacturers for limiting sales to national governments because of the sheer scale of the global rollout, I implore you to make an exception in the case of South Africa,” his letter reads.

South Africa is one of 20 African countries experiencing massive surges of infections dominated by the fast-spreading delta variant of the virus.

Despite being the most developed economy in Africa, South Africans are suffering along with the rest of the continent, waiting for a more widespread vaccine rollout.

ALSO READ: Government working to prioritise journalists for vaccines

With the current rollout relying almost entirely on the two-dose Pfizer vaccines and the single-dose Johnson and Johnson, both in scant supply, political parties have pressured the South African Health Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to approve more brands in order to speed up the buying process.

Vaccines from Russia, China and Cuba have apparently been sidelines, according to the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and labour union Numsa, in favour of those manufactured by the dominating multinationals in the vaccine race.

But others have begun pointing fingers at the government for not making urgent plans to buy more vaccines.

Workers feel in constant and growing danger

A nurse and member of the Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union says working at the Tshwane District Hospital has left her and her colleagues often overworked, despite the hospital coping better than others with the third wave so far.

ALSO READ: Level 4 lockdown for 2 weeks: Alcohol sales and public gatherings banned

“We are requested to work overtime to cover the shortage…but also we end up being overexposed and becoming vulnerable to the infection causing more shortages.”

A growing number of staff infections at the hospital is apparently adding to the burden.

“If two or more nurses become infected it means they will isolate for 10 days.”

While it and other labour organisations welcomed the lockdown restrictions and school closures announced this week, The PSA wants this 14-day hard lockdown to be used to prioritise vaccinations for educators.

“Health workers in both the public and private sector are exhausted after more than a year of constantly combating COVID-19 to ensure the survival for citizens.

“Despite this, public health workers have been denied salary increases for two years in succession and have not received any allowance in recognition of their sacrifices and personal risks,” says PSA spokesperson Reuben Maleka.

Things didn’t have to be this way

The logic of imposing lockdown was to help the government prepare its health infrastructure to cope with the expected flood of patients into our public institutions, points out Saftu General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.

DeSpite 15 months of lockdown restrictions, there are still not enough beds and oxygen cylinders, especially Intensive Care Units, available to cope with increased demand.

Hospitals are also facing looming staff shortage crisis, which Vavi says puts a disproportionate burden on the few remaining doctors, nurses, specialists and other healthcare officials.

While 2.9 million people have had their first jab, only 500,000 have completed their vaccine regimens.

While dozens of countries are approaching vaccination rates of 70%, Steenhuisen laments, less than 1% of South Africans have been fully vaccinated.

“In a catastrophic failure of leadership, the South African government did not even begin negotiations with vaccine suppliers until the end of 2020. In some cases, vaccine manufacturers tried for ‘months and months’ to speak with the ‘non-responsive’ national health department. ”

Industries are in distress

Ramaphosa’s fourth alcohol ban in 15 months did not go down well for the frustrated local booze industry.

The South African Liquor Brandowners Association (Salba) has written to the Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Council (MAC), Prof Koleka Mlisana, challenging the body to release of the information that informed the MAC’s recommendation to the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) to ban all alcohol sales in relation to the third wave of infections.

ALSO READ: Alcohol industry demands scientific evidence justifying alcohol ban

The association is contenting that there is no global precedent for the South African government’s decision. Countries including India, where the Delta variant originates, from did not institute bans on alcohol sales, it points out.

“We would therefore like to understand what international best practice or local scientific data was used for the MAC to conclude that off and on-consumption sales ban was the best solution,” says Salba Chair Sibani Mngadi.

Covid-19 suffering intensifies

Organisations have stressed that South Africans must adhere to the Covid-19 regulations despite the growong frustration with government, as without enough vaccinations, lives remain at stake.

Thousands of hospitalised Covid-19 cases are languishing under the increasingly pressured public hospital environment where ICU beds are dwindling and staff shortages abound.

Meanwhile, Gauteng, the epicentre of the third wave has amassed over 80,000 new Covid-19 cases, with Johannesburg residents accounting for 40% of them.

In Johannesburg, the DA has raised concern over the continued shortage of bed spaces.