Vijay Surujpal of Phoenix writes:
The delays in procuring vaccines has been met with criticism from many sectors.
The government sprang into action when high-profile doctors and scientists penned a letter articulating their disdain at the slow pace of procurement.
The vaccine is the only hope to stop the virus from spreading as non-pharmaceutical measures such as wearing of masks are not having the desired outcomes.
Government has come under tremendous pressure for reneging on its responsibility to pay the vaccine deposit on time.
South Africa missed out on having agreements with manufacturers such as AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson.
South Africa could have secured vaccines to inoculate the entire population sooner rather than later since the testing and manufacturing was and is being done on home soil.
The ultimate aim of the vaccination drive is to achieve herd immunity where the transmission rate is curtailed with very few infections that can be easily dealt with.
Thanks to BioNtech and the serum institute of India that our government has secured 1.5 million doses of the vaccine which is expected to reach our shores by the end of January 2021.
The frontline employees being the healthcare workers will be the first beneficiaries of this consignment.
Ten percent of the population is expected to receive vaccinations in the second half of the year via the covax deal.
The target area will be people with comorbidities and those 60 years and above.
By the end of 2021 the target of 67% of the population needs to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as announced by the minister.
Analysts are of the opinion that this is an ambitious target considering the contextual and logistical factors that will be experienced in the administration of the vaccine that has not been secured as yet.
As record numbers of infections are being reported daily, the delay in the procurement of the vaccine will negatively impact the statistics related to deaths due to the coronavirus.