Doses of the vaccines will be imported until a new vaccine production facility is established.
Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai) board chair Theo de Jager welcomes the minister of agriculture’s plan to vaccinate the entire national herd.
“This brave political announcement should trigger the process to get proper control over a disastrous disease, which has spread like wildfire, contaminating dairies in KwaZulu-Natal with new outbreaks reported on a daily basis over the last week or two.
“It also triggers a lot of questions. Where do we start and how? Who will do it? Botswana’s vaccine manufacturer will be closed until late January,” he said.
Mass vaccination plan raises supply and timing concerns
De Jager said that while the minister announced that the oilbased vaccine will be imported from Türkiye and that they can deliver a million doses per month, Saai estimated that farmers need to vaccinate about 14 million head of cattle at least twice so 28 million doses are needed.
“No matching has been done of the South African strains and the Turkish or Brazilian vaccines. That needs to be done at the International Reference Laboratory in the UK.
“Although it was supposed to have been done by July 2025, the laboratory has not yet received samples of the SA strains.”
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Industry warns vaccine availability remains the biggest obstacle
De Jager said the biggest challenge was to have enough vaccines.
“It is estimated that the Turkish vaccine might cost between R65 and R75 per dose, while Brazilian vaccines might cost R50 to R55 per dose. Should vaccines be imported from both these manufacturers, it might bring down the price because of the competition in the market.
“It should also help to limit the time span in which we reach national herd immunity,” he said.
De Jager said it was still unclear what the rules would be during and after vaccination.
“Farmers are holding their breath to see if the same boldness can be applied in making and executing plans and deciding how to get enough vaccines into South Africa to implement this plan.”
Red Meat Action Group’s (RAG) Jaco de Villiers described the plan as a strategic shift and recognition of producers’ suffering.
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Producers question feasibility of vaccinating entire national herd
“However, this is where the easy part ends. The minister’s statement creates good intentions, but leaves the producers bearing the cost and the risk, with more questions than answers,” he said.
De Villiers asked whether the volumes could cover a national herd of about 22 million animals.
“The minister plans to vaccinate the entire national herd, but the statement shows that the state currently has done 931 200 vaccinations in three months, with two million doses only available by February; a further 1.5 million doses that still need to be tracked down,” he said.
De Villiers asked which vaccine will be used in SA, who will register it and what the quality standard will be.
“RAG is willing to cooperate but not to be complicit in a plan whose critical details are missing. RAG does not speak to political agendas; we speak on behalf of people who live with the real risks every day,” he added.
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