Govt warned to heed lessons from HIV

Government must recall the hardlearnt lessons of the HIV pandemic of the 1990s as SA falls further behind other countries in its Covid-19 vaccination programme.

This was the warning from Treatment Action Campaign secretary-general Anele Yawa in the wake of more Covid-19 vaccines becoming available in the global race to make cheaper jabs.

Cuban scientists this week announced the country would make 100 million doses of Soberana 2, its most advanced vaccine candidate, by the end of this year. This would be the first to be developed in South America.

Vicente Verez, director of the Finlay Institute in Cuba, recently told journalists the group was reorganising its production capacities to meet expected demand.

The Finlay Institute was responsible for the development of Soberana 2 and Soberana 1. Two other vaccines in the island are under development.

Government should move fast, Yawa urged, to procure vaccines for the country and to ensure the roll-out plan was considerate of any possible implications for immune-compromised people such as those living with HIV.

South Africa has 7.7 million people living with the virus, affecting around 20% of the population.

“In the early days of the ARV programme, there were a variety of treatments catering to different circumstances, like Nevirapine for new mothers and so on.

“Over time, some of them were giving difficulties and we moved on from them as we learned about different side-effects,” said Yawa.