WATCH LIVE: DA announces legal action on vaccine procurement and rollout strategy
Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize announced earlier in January that the government has set up structures to expedite the financing, sourcing, and procurement of the vaccine for Covid-19.
DA leader John Steenhuisen. Picture: Gallo Images/Sowetan/Veli Nhlapo
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will on Monday make an announcement as to how it will be challenging the government’s vaccine procurement and rollout strategy.
As the country battles the second wave of the Coronavirus, Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize said earlier in January that the government has set up structures to expedite the financing, sourcing, and procurement of the vaccine for Covid-19.
According to Mkhize, the first batch of the vaccine will be arriving before the end of January with another one expected in February.
UPDATE: DA gives Ramaphosa 7 days to give full vaccination plan… or else
Mkhize said the government is targeting a minimum of 67% of the population to achieve herd immunity and the approach will be a phased rollout of the vaccine beginning with the most vulnerable in the population.
The first phase targets frontline health care workers, with a target population of about 1,250,000. Phase two will accommodate essential workers, persons in congregate settings, the elderly, and those over the age of 18 who have comorbidities. The third phase will target South Africans over the age of 18.
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This means that by the end of phase 3, more than 40-million citizens will have been immunized, which is equivalent to approximately 67,25% of the population.
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