Push for vaccine transparency

As the South African government struggles to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, with embattled Health Minister Zweli Mkhize having this week presented what has largely been seen as an unconvincing vaccine roll-out strategy, experts are unanimous the target to immunise 67% of the population remains a dream too far to realise.

After months of uncertainty, failure to publicly confirm a date for the vaccine roll-out and an inability to timeously close deals with manufacturers, Mkhize – accompanied by members of the ministerial advisory committee on Covid-19 vaccines – has promised:

• Covering 67% of the population in a vaccine roll-out by the end of 2021
• A three-phased vaccination plan, starting with front-line healthcare workers (1.2 million), essential workers (2.5 million), persons in congregate settings (1.1 million), those who are 60 years of age (5 million), 18-year-olds with comorbidities (8 million) and other persons (22.5 million).

Reflecting on Mkhize’s strategy, Dr Aslam Dasoo, convenor of the Progressive Health Forum (PHF) said: “If there was a strategy, the PHF would perhaps consider it or buying into it.

“What has been presented is not a strategy, but a wish.

“One of the important things to come out of the briefing was the minister affirming that we are starting bilateral negotiations with pharmaceutical companies – which should have begun about six to eight months ago, when we all knew that vaccines were likely to succeed.

“He was saying this as most other countries have already received their vaccine stocks.

“In the absence of a firm date and an operational plan on the table, it is unfortunate for South Africa that we are now starting to think and talk about how we access the vaccine – this being day-zero.

“We are going to experience a couple more surges in the virus, which are going to be very costly – particularly for the healthcare system.

“The minister also acknowledged that they will have to work with the private sector to acquire and distribute vaccines – an important acknowledgement that the incapacity of the state, particularly the department of health, is quite severe.”

South Africa, said Dasoo, should brace for a period of uncertainty – “more Covid-19 casesand related deaths”.

“We are not likely to get any vaccine now,” said Dasoo.

“The earliest date for Covax would be April and you would need to vaccinate over a 150 000 people a day because 67% of the population is 40 million.”

University of Cape Town Professor Heather Zar, of the department of paediatrics and child health at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, who has led a push for government to be transparent on vaccines, having obtained over 2 500 signatures for a petition to the department of health, said government “has realised urgency in rolling out vaccines”.

Said Zar: “The briefing was encouraging, showing that the department was applying their mind in developing a strategy.

“But it was disappointing that no specific plans were laid out or giving firm commitments of where and when we will have our first vaccine.

“Covering 67% of the population by the end of 2021 is not feasible or realistic.

“A country like Israel, which has the fastest uptake of vaccines in the world, is immunising a 100 000 people a day – regarding this virus like fighting a war.

“I can’t see how we can vaccinate 300 000 people per day.”

SA Medical Research Council president Professor Glenda Gray said she was happy about the public announcement because it was “important for the department of health to be transparent about its processes”.

“Achieving 67% of the population by year-end sounds very ambitious, something that will require all hands on deck if you want to get a massive number of people vaccinated,” she said.

Professor Shabir Madhi, executive director of the Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics research unit at Wits University, said: “The reality is that companies have not been stockpiling vaccines, waiting for us to put in a purchase order. They have already sold manufactured vaccines.”

– brians@citizen.co.za

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