President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that government will deploy a comprehensive vaccination strategy that aims to reach all parts of the country.<\/p>\n
Addressing the nation on Monday on the country\u2019s progress in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, the President described the task as the \u201clargest and most complex logistical undertaking in our country\u2019s history\u201d.<\/p>\n
As of this week, South African has recorded over 1.2 million COVID-19 infections and 33 000 related deaths. The country is currently experiencing its second wave of infections.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be far more extensive than our HIV treatment programme or even our national, provincial and local elections in terms of the number of people who have to be reached within a short space of time,\u201d said President Ramaphosa.<\/p>\n
The task will require the active involvement of all spheres of government, all sectors of society and all citizens and residents of the country.<\/p>\n
The three-pronged strategy includes, firstly, the acquiring of enough vaccine doses to reach herd immunity.<\/p>\n
In this regard, the President said the country was in the process of procuring vaccines through three channels: through the World Health Organisation\u2019s COVAX facility, through the African Union\u2019s vaccine initiative and through direct engagements with vaccine manufacturers.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Africa is part of the global COVAX facility, in which countries pool their resources to support the development of vaccines with a view to ensure that all countries receive an equitable supply of effective vaccines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The country is expected to receive vaccine doses for around 10 percent of the population through COVAX.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough intensive engagement with vaccine manufacturers, the Task Team has done tremendous work to secure vaccine doses for countries on the continent,\u201d he said. \u201cThe South African government has also been engaging directly with several vaccine manufacturers for over six months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added the President: \u201cGiven the massive global demand for vaccines and the vastly greater purchasing power of wealthier countries, we are exploring all avenues to get as many vaccine doses as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
While there are several promising negotiations with a number of different manufacturers that are yet to be concluded, South Africa has to date secured 20 million doses to be delivered mainly in the first half of the year.<\/p>\n
Government will make further announcements as it concludes negotiations with vaccine manufacturers.<\/p>\n
The second part of the strategy, the President said, is to identify the priority groups that need to be vaccinated with doses throughout the year.<\/p>\n
In Phase 1, with the first batch of vaccines, 1.2 million frontline health workers will be prioritised.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Phase 2, when more vaccines arrive, we will prioritise essential workers such as teachers, police, municipal workers and other frontline personnel. We will also prioritise people in institutions like old age homes, shelters and prisons, people over 60 years of age and adults with co-morbidities. The total number we plan to reach in this phase is around 16 million people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In Phase 3, with increased manufacturer supplies, government will then vaccinate the remaining adult population of approximately 22.5 million people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will then have reached around 40 million South Africans, which is considered to approximate herd immunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The third part of the strategy, said the President, is to distribute the vaccines throughout the country and to administer them to those who have been identified to receive them.<\/p>\n
Government has set a target of achieving herd immunity through a massive vaccination programme as it charts a path to recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have always said that an effective vaccine will be a game-changer. Vaccines offer to the peoples of the world a means to control the Coronavirus pandemic. A person who is vaccinated has a much reduced chance of becoming ill and dying from COVID-19,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Herd immunity\u2019 or \u2018population immunity\u2019 is when enough of the population is immune to the virus to provide indirect protection to those who are not immune, bringing the spread of the virus under control.<\/p>\n
While the actual level needed for herd immunity is not known, scientists have estimated that South Africa will likely reach herd immunity once around 67 per cent (40 million) of the population are immune.<\/p>\n
Government has established a national coordinating committee, which brings together key government departments, the private sector and other stakeholders to oversee the implementation of our national strategy.<\/p>\n
The President said the state will administer vaccinations through hospitals, clinics, outreach services and mobile clinics, and private settings such as doctor\u2019s offices, pharmacies and work places.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn inclusive partnership has been formed between government, medical schemes and the private sector to support the acquisition, funding and distribution of vaccines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
President Ramaphosa welcomed the contributions made by civil society, academics and others towards the development of an effective national strategy, even when such contributions have been critical of government.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are integrating the full resources and capacity of our country into a single effort directed at making vaccines available. This collaboration, which is among the most significant of its kind in our history, is essential as we work together in solidarity to win the war against COVID-19,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Vaccine safety <\/strong><\/p>\n Addressing those who are sceptical about vaccines, the President said there is much disinformation and conspiracy theories being spread about the COVID-19 vaccines. <\/p>\n This was despite vaccines having been used over the years to eradicate diseases such as small pox and polio.<\/p>\n \u201cChildren get vaccinated routinely against many diseases such as mumps, measles rubella, and travellers are often vaccinated against diseases like yellow fever,\u201d said the President.<\/p>\n He reiterated that every vaccine that will be used in government\u2019s programme will have to be approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, which applies stringent scientific standards to ensure the safety and efficacy of any drug or treatment.<\/p>\n \u201cSouth Africa\u2019s vaccine strategy is well underway. Understandably, we all want to know when the vaccines will be arriving. As we work to secure the supply of sufficient doses in the midst of a huge global demand, we will do everything possible to ensure that the process is transparent and that all information is available,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He urged the public to be part of the monumental undertaking to roll out the Coronavirus vaccine.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough it will be difficult, complex and often frustrating, it is vital that we do this together, for the sake of our country and for the well-being of all our people,\u201d he said. – SAnews.gov.za<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that government will deploy a comprehensive vaccination strategy that aims to reach all parts of the country. Addressing the nation on Monday on the country\u2019s progress in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, the President described the task as the \u201clargest and most complex logistical undertaking in our country\u2019s history\u201d. As of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[38678],"class_list":{"0":"post-177031","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-sanews","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177031\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}