GPS feel left out in the vaccination rollout plan

Doctors say they’re a first point of call

The start of the Government Employees Medical Scheme 12th annual symposium on Thursday zoomed in on the vaccine rollout and the impact of Covid-19 on the health system.

Deputy Minister for Public Service and Administration Sindisiwe Chikunga said the vaccine rollout programme has been the subject of many dinner-table conversations.

“Many of you have speculated about the progress of the programme and the pace at which it is being implemented. These discussions have generated more questions than answers and are a matter of public discourse, and that is understandable,” she said.

On the panel were various experts from the medical fraternity. They reflected on Covid-19, the Sisonke study and the vaccine rollout. Chairman of B4SA Health Working Group Stavros Nicolaou said he was confident the vaccine sites expansion, starting tomorrow, would achieve their goal of vaccinating more than 40-million people by the middle of next year.

“We have secured 45-million doses of vaccines. Pfizer is a dual dose and Johnson & Johnson [J&J] a single dose. Russia’s Sputnik vaccine and the Chinese vaccine are in the process of being registered with Sahpra [South African Health Products Regulatory Authority]. Phase three will start in November and we expect to see 22-million non-essential workers vaccinated,” he said.

Though the US has started administering vaccines to teens aged 12 to 16, Nicolaou said in South Africa, science is what guided who needed vaccines.

“Some in that population group have juvenile conditions, so it’s important to vaccinate at some stage. I am sure our scientists will decide in the short to medium term.” He also stated that the J&J study, expected to be released soon, will determine if the vaccine would be annual or if booster shots will be required.

Dr Norman Mabasa, a general practitioner (GP) in Kagiso, Krugersdorp, said ignoring GPS in the vaccine trials was futile because they are the first line of defence for patients with Covid-19 symptoms.

He said GPS are exposed to the virus more than 20 times a day and refer many to hospitals too.

“We do counselling of patients, yet we are easily ignored. We don’t have structures in place to show where in the rollout we fit. The Health Department and Government Employees Medical Scheme need to realise that people are comforted when they are in familiar settings,” he said.

Dischem’s national clinic manager Lizeth Kruger said though private sector patients think that they will be vaccinated first, they must realise that private healthcare must still follow the government rollout strategy. “Whatever vaccine becomes available, you must take. Don’t wait for what you think is better,” she said.