Tshwane A grade-rated pharmacy ready to facilitate vaccine roll-out

The FF Ribeiro clinic at Sammy Marks Square in the Pretoria CBD is ready to operate as the facilitation centre for all Tshwane-run clinics.

Tshwane health MMC Sakkie du Plooy said all Tshwane clinics would be used as vaccination sites with the FF Ribeiro clinic pharmacy as the facilitation centre.

Du Plooy said the pharmacy team, in collaboration with clinics, would ensure that all logistics were in place to ensure that the vaccine reached the target groups, while still in good quality condition.

“We have a walk-in fridge with power back-up. This fridge can be utilised to store excess stock if needed.”

Du Plooy said the FF Ribeiro clinic was able to handle the vaccine by administering proper and careful storage. The clinic could do this through cold chain maintenance, stock management, proper transportation and proper management of other sectors in the value chain until the vaccine reached its intended person.

He said the A-grade rating achieved by the Tshwane metro-run pharmacy meant that the pharmacy complied with South African Pharmacy Council requirements which included cold chain management which was at the centre of any vaccination programme to ensure vaccines retained the quality and efficacy.

The clinic was last graded in February 2018 and before that in August 2016, according to Du Plooy.

“The next rating assessment will be in the next three years.”

Du Plooy said the pharmacy currently stored items for Tshwane’s primary health care facilities for when needed as part of contingency plans.

“Tshwane will still continue to offer Covid-19 screening and testing as we have no idea when the next stages will start. We do not even know when vaccination of the next batch of health workers will start. At the moment only hospital staff are vaccinated,” he said.

“Our outreach team also continues to implement the ward-based battle plan such as awareness, screening, testing, compliance monitoring in areas where hotspots were identified in an attempt to avoid any possibility of a third wave.”

The DA welcomed the start of vaccination for health workers in Gauteng, but expressed concern that only two hospitals had to vaccinate the entire province.

DA Gauteng health spokesperson Jack Bloom said the province had received 16 800 out of the 80 000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines that have arrived.

Bloom said 11 800 were sent to Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital and 5 000 to Steve Biko academic hospital.

“It will be very disruptive and time-consuming for health workers in different parts of the province to go to these two hospitals for vaccinations.

“Their own hospitals are under severe pressure and will suffer from all the staff taking time off to get the vaccine.”

Bloom said Gauteng had 211 403 employees in the public and private health sectors.

“We need a lot more vaccines and vaccination sites as soon as possible.

“It is critical that every effort is made to dramatically scale up vaccination in Gauteng before an anticipated third wave of infections in early winter.”

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