Where is SA’s elusive Covid-19 vaccine?

While many countries around the world begin easing their lockdown measures and are well on their way to reaching Covid-19 herd immunity, South Africa is yet to vaccinate half a million of our 58 million-strong population.

In fact, South Africa has not even managed to vaccinate

100 per cent of its healthcare workers.

Last week, we celebrated International Nurses’ Day, during which politicians and leaders paid tribute to the selfless work carried out by the country’s nurses; yet those same politicians are knowingly placing the lives of these nurses on the line as we head into the Covid-19 third wave.

It has been months since the launch of our country’s vaccine programme, but we are yet to make any headway. What happened to the plans of vaccinating 67 per cent of the country’s population by the end of the year?

While trying to remain positive and giving the powers that be the benefit of the doubt, there were undoubtedly millions of South Africans who were skeptical about this herd immunity target.

And rightfully so.

As the USA celebrates issuing 118 million (35 per cent of its population) vaccinations, and the UK 18.5 million (27 per cent of its population) vaccinations, CNN quotes President Ramaphosa as saying, ‘unequal access (to the vaccine) amounts to vaccine apartheid’.

If not the South African government, who is responsible for the vaccine being inaccessible to South African citizens?

South Africa’s vaccine roll-out has been tantamount to a circus performance, with internationally-approved vaccines being deemed ineffective for our population.

While the government consoles itself by insisting it returned AstraZeneca and suspended J&J for the welfare of the country’s citizens, people continue to die of the virus and the third wave is yet to make an impact.

Among those are the millions of vulnerable over-60s who should have already received their jabs.

AstraZeneca may have not been as effective against the South African variant as it is against the British variant, but studies have shown that while people may have contracted Covid-19 despite having had the AstraZeneca shot, they would not have died from the virus.

And while the J&J concerns were legitimate, the suspension was quickly lifted in the USA and vaccinations resumed.

Here in South Africa, we lifted the J&J suspension, but where are the vaccines now? Confusion rules and many people are convinced the government returned the J&J vaccine as it did AstraZeneca.

And we await the imminent arrival of the Pfizer two-shot jab.

The USA has announced it will begin to vaccinate children aged 12 years and older, yet our frontline workers are as exposed as they were a year ago.

This is unacceptable. The health of South Africa’s citizens must be the top priority of our government, but instead their internal squabbles take top focus. When is South Africa going to truly be a frontline player on the world stage, instead of continuously lagging behind?