S. Africa support for CoronaVac comes at crucial time
The South African government and political parties have given their endorsement of the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine at a critical time during the country’s fight against the pandemic.
South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, or SAHPRA, approved the use of CoronaVac in the country on July 3. Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, CEO of SAHPRA, said they approved the use of the vaccine produced by Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotech based on its safety, quality and efficacy of the data presented to them.
Acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane welcomed the vaccine as a “turning point and much-needed relief for the country’s vaccination rollout program”.
“CoronaVac will boost the vaccine supply for the country’s vaccination rollout program in addition to those we have already received from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson,” she said at a media briefing on Friday.
Government officials expect the approval to boost cooperation between the two countries.
South African Communist Party General Secretary Blade Nzimande said the country looks for more cooperation in COVID-19 vaccines.
“The efficacy of the CoronaVac vaccine to the COVID-19 variants that are dominant in South Africa and its safety are essential,” he said.
China’s embassy to South Africa promised to ensure that the country gets the CoronaVac vaccine needed to fight against COVID-19.
“We will continue to fully assist and accommodate the South African side to see that Chinese vaccines are delivered to South Africa as quickly as possible, so as to help the South African people fight and eventually defeat the virus,” said the embassy in a statement.
The approval of the Sinovac vaccine came as more and more people want to get vaccinated.
Brutal wave
As the most affected country in the continent, South Africa is experiencing a brutal fresh wave, with alarming increases in infections and fatalities fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday that the country’s health system remains under pressure, with daily hospital admissions across the country projected to reach the levels observed during the peak of the first two waves by next week.
South Africa currently has over 200,000 cases. In the past two weeks, it has consistently recorded a daily average of nearly 20,000 cases.
Following the surging cases, Ramaphosa extended tight restrictions including night curfews, ban on social, political and religious gatherings, and prohibition of alcohol sales for another 14 days.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases said on Sunday that in the latest 24 hours, 16,302 cases had been identified, bringing the total number of cases to about 2.2 million.