(AGN) – Earlier portraits of South Africa dodging a bullet from the fast-spreading coronavirus present a major undercount of infections and deaths rampaging throughout the country.
Worse yet, life-saving vaccines are not expected to arrive until the second quarter of the year at the soonest, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize in an address this week. The timing will depend on bilateral negotiations with the drug companies, he added.
Currently, South Africa has the most reported COVID-19 cases in Africa. KwaZulu-Natal has the most active cases, followed by the Western Cape. Total infections since the pandemic began are 1,088,889 with 29,175 coronavirus-related deaths.
Until a week ago, government projected a June or July vaccine roll-out even as infection numbers were advancing quickly.
This week, in a 180 degree turn, a policy speed-up was announced. “We are targeting minimum of 67% of the population to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year,” said Minister Mkhize. But so far only enough doses for 10% of the population have been secured.
The government’s bumbling of the crisis has ignited a mounting wave of criticism from medical professionals and health experts. Dr. Aslam Dasoo from the Progressive Health Forum accused the government of dropping the ball in securing the vaccine.
“South Africans now face the prospect of only receiving vaccines long after many countries have already conducted mass vaccination programs”, said Dasoo.
Professionals from Cape Town’s Red Cross Children’s Hospital, echoed Dasoo’s concerns. “We call on the Department of Health to act urgently, transparently and decisively to obtain vaccines and to implement vaccination so as to reduce death and illness and bring the pandemic under control,” wrote Professor Heather Zar, a leading public sector pediatrician in an open letter. Signatures to the letter have reached 2,500.
“South Africa has a strong primary health care system. The success of the antiretroviral program shows what the health system is capable of. We are well-placed to implement vaccination,” she wrote.
But Shabir Madhi, professor of vaccinology at Wits University and co-founder of the African Leadership Initiative for Vaccinology Expertise (ALIVE) took a darker view. He berated government for dragging its feet while most of the available vaccines were spoken for. The vaccination goal of 67% of the population is aspirational, he said, not a strategy until the drugs are secured. The numbers put forth by government are unrealistic and create false expectations, he said. “So we see trouble.” w/pix of Z. Mkhize
By Lisa Vives
