Anti-vaxxers hold SA ransom

As a number of overseas countries relax Covid restrictions, or do away with them altogether, the same is not on the cards for South Africa in the near future – because our vaccination levels are so low.

Medicare24 chief executive Mike van Wyk said: “We have all had enough of Covid and its restrictions, and we all want normality back.

“But we are nowhere near the vaccination levels required to make a leap to normality in South Africa. Anti-vaxxers and apathy are now delaying a return to normal for the whole country.”

Van Wyk added that the tempo of vaccination has slowed down and now that there is proof of the positive outcome of getting jabbed, perhaps the pace would pick up again.

Professor of Vaccinology at Wits University Shabir Madhi said last week it was critical that, if vaccination uptake continued to be slow, the government should use the estimated 15 million doses it has in storage for booster jabs. He tweeted that the country “missed the boat for Omicron”, and “still seemingly has no plan to open up a third dose to everyone older than 50 in SA”.

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Madhi retweeted findings that vaccination and boosters had reduced deaths by 99% in the United States and Switzerland, consistently across all age groups. Data from Switzerland shows there have been no deaths of people up to the age of 70 who have been vaccinated and boosted.

The importance of broadening the pool of vaccinated people was emphasised by Van Wyk, who warned: “We do not want to become the breeding ground for new variants. So, apart from pursuing a return to normal, we need to make sure that we quickly close the gap between our vaccination rollout and that of the rest of the world.”

But South Africa will not scrap Covid restrictions soon. The department of health said its position right now is to wait and see. South Africa was not as heavily impacted by a surge in Omicron infections as northern hemisphere nations. But it’s summer here, and winter up north.

Spokesperson for the department Foster Mohale said: “Despite less severity measured for the current variant, Omicron, and the current low infection rate, it is too early for the country to lift restrictions.”

Mohale said that South Africa needed more fully vaccinated citizens. “Thus, until we have better vaccination coverage, with more people having received at least one vaccine dose, to allow the country to reach [some] population immunity, we need to be cautious about making rushed decisions based on what other countries have decided.”

Previously, Mohale told The Citizen that the department expects a fifth wave around March. He added this week that before the department contemplates its next significant decision, another wave may be needed to create better clarity for the direction of its decision.

Denmark last week became the first European country to announce its intention to scrap all coronavirus-related restrictions and to relegate the disease to just another flu-like infection. Previously, Spain led a move to consider rebadging the pandemic to endemic status.

This, despite a sustained surge in Omicron infections on the continent. Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen said that her country can smile again. It seems counterintuitive to press delete on two years’ of preventative measures during a surge in infections, Fredericksen told a press conference.

“Recent weeks have seen very high infection rates, in fact the highest in the entire pandemic. Therefore, it may seem strange and paradoxical that we are now ready to let go of the restrictions.”

Demark has an 82% vaccination rate. Half of fully vaccinated persons have also received a booster shot.

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