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Fourth, fifth waves assured as riots reverse Covid gains, shut vaccine sites
Not only are vaccination sites closed, but healthcare staff are struggling to get to work while looting is increasing alcohol-related trauma.
Batho – Pele Pharmacy employee Ammie Maleka cleans after vandalism that took place at Naledi Mall in Vosloorus after the mall was looted, vandalised and set alight at Ekurhuleni in Johannesburg, 12 July 2021, after the looting by supporters of Jacob Zuma amid widespread riots sparked by his incarceration. Picture; Nigel Sibanda
The ongoing riots looks set to reverse all the country’s gains in combatting the Covid pandemic, with vaccination sites remaining closed in all of KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng while pharmacies have been looted of medical supplies and left destroyed.
Residents of KwaZulu-Natal who were ready for their Covid jabs would have to wait a bit longer as the health department closed all vaccination sites in the country following public violence, vandalism and looting in the province.
This includes parts of Gauteng, with sites in the Johannesburg CBD being closed, said national health department spokesperson Popo Maja.
“Vaccination has been halted in all districts in KZN following the security assessment on the ground. Health services have also been severely disrupted. We are concerned about the illegal closure of roads around health facilities, particularly KZN.”
It is not yet clear when these would be opened but Maja said security is of the utmost importance, and those registered would automatically be rescheduled for other appointments.
Discovery, which had set up their vaccination sites in support of government, also had to close all their vaccination facilities, except at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Spokesperson Nthabiseng Chapeshamano said they were hoping to resume vaccinations on Wednesday, once they were assured of the safety of employees and attendees at the sites.
“In the meantime, Discovery is monitoring the situation across the country very closely…” she said.
Pharmacies which also offered the Covid vaccine were also affected by the looting and vandalism with millions worth of supplies and medication destroyed, said the Independent Community Pharmacy Association.
“The President has indicated that vaccinations will be ramped up and more than 200 000 persons will be vaccinated daily in the days ahead, however, this now becomes impossible since pharmacy vaccination sites have been destroyed and looted,” the association said.
Worsened pandemic will be the consequence
The riots are reversing all efforts to combat the virus and the consequences of the unrest would severely impact the health system and the population, said experts.
While President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday that they aimed to jab around 200 000 people per day, they slightly missed their target on Monday, only vaccinating 154 173 people.
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The criminal behaviour of looters and rioters would only make the pandemic worse, said Stellenbosch University epidemiologist Dr Jo Barnes.
“This will unfortunately hamper the vaccine rollout significantly and we will have a fourth, fifth, and subsequent waves because we can’t protect the population. The economic suffering and hardships are going to be worse and there will be loss of life and illness.”
“It is erasing all our gains which we have made… This is a classic situation of poor behaviour where people shoot themselves in the foot,” she said.
Not only are vaccination sites hampered, but healthcare staff are also struggling to get to work to assist Covid patients. With people stealing and looting alcohol, this would then lead to alcohol related trauma cases, said Professor Alex van den Heever, chair of social security systems administration and management at the Wits University.
“People are stealing liquor and I’ve heard they get drunk and end up stabbing people. This has reversed everything we have done. Unless there is herd immunity in some communities, which I doubt, people will still be liable to be infected and even if they are not ill, they can transmit it,” he said.
