Vaccine distribution key to speedy roll-out

According to estimates on a number of international websites tracking the global rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, at the current rate of vaccination, it will take South Africa 10 years to reach 75% of its population.

That gives, on one hand, a sense of the glacially slow progress in rolling out the jabs but, on the other, also gives a distorted picture of the reality – because it is inevitable that the pace of vaccinations will accelerate markedly in the next few weeks and months.

The good news yesterday was that this country has just confirmed an order for 20 million dual-shot doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

This adds to the total of 31 million single-shot doses from Johnson & Johnson, which the government approved late last week.

This means government will soon have enough to vaccinate roughly 41 million people out of its total population of 60 million.

The country has also been allocated 12 million shots under the World Health Organisation’s Covax scheme and is likely to get doses for 10 million people from the African Union’s Avatt initiative. It is not clear at the moment whether those vaccines will be single- or double-shot, or a combination of both.

With the first batch of Pfizer due to arrive this month, the programme should really start ramping up.

However, a major concern must be in whether the vitally important “cold chain” can be maintained for this vaccine, which requires storage at temperatures well below those of normal fridges.

Distribution network efficiency will be the key to a successful roll-out and it is comforting that the plans are to include the private sector – from general practitioners to pharmacies – in the process.

The sooner we can get most of the country vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to our normal lives.

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