Vaccine roll-out plan ‘out soon’

ANNOUNCEMENT: EXPECTED TODAY OR TOMORROW Regulator’s registration of health products completed.

Government is expected to announce plans for the arrival and distribution of one million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine early this week.

This after news that South Africa was reportedly paying 2.5 times more than most buyers for the drug has placed its negotiations skills under the spotlight.

Department of health spokesman Popo Maja said it was expected either the president or the department would address the nation in the next two days.

“Negotiations have concluded with regard to the vaccines that are coming and preparations have been in place. The minister will give further details on what will happen to those doses ... either on Monday or Tuesday.”

Dr Melinda Suchard, head of the Centre for Vaccines and Immunology at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said allowing millions of people to become infected in the hopes of eventually achieving herd immunity (enough immunity to eradicate a disease) was a deadly and unscientific gamble.

There is, however, uncertainty whether natural immunity in individuals was long-lasting and whether viral evolution would cause the virus to be able to spread despite population immunity.

When more than approximately 70% of the community was immune, then the virus would start to spread more slowly and only cause small clusters rather than large, fast outbreaks. “It is more desirable to achieve 70% population immunity through vaccination,” said Suchard. “Using vaccination, we hope to achieve 70% herd immunity without letting as many deaths occur. It is also hoped that vaccine-induced immunity will be more predictable and long-lasting than natural immunity, which seems variable in different individuals.”

It is understood the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has completed its registration process for the vaccine.

Spokesman Yuven Gounden said they’d would release a statement on the product after the government has confirmed its roll-out plans. In terms of Section 14 of the Medicines and Related Substances Act, no medicine, including vaccines, may be sold in SA unless registered by Sahpra.

Using jabs, we hope to achieve 70% herd immunity