South Africa has a big Covid-19 vaccine problem
Demand for Covid-19 vaccines has slumped so dramatically that South Africa’s government is considering giving spare doses to other countries, reports the Sunday Times.
Health minister Joe Phaahla confirmed this in a written parliamentary answer to an EFF member’s questions and said there are still 23-million vaccine doses in stock.
About 35-million doses have been issued since vaccination first began in South Africa a year ago — and over half of South Africa’s adult population has yet to receive a single dose of the vaccine.
“Given the continuing low uptake of vaccination there is a high risk that a significant number of doses will not be utilised before their expiry date,” said Phaahla.
Because of this, the health department “is exploring opportunities for donating excess vaccines to other countries,” he added.
“If this is not possible, then excess vaccines that have reached their expiry date will be discarded.”
Phaahla also confirmed that the country is not currently procuring any new vaccines due to the low uptake levels among the South African population.
Vaccine hesitancy
Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy has been a problem for the health department since vaccinations first became available locally in May 2021.
In November, the country had to ask Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer to postpone the delivery of vaccine doses, as the country was sitting on 158 days’ worth of stock.
The health department offered R100 grocery vouchers to South Africans when they received their first dose of the vaccine.
Later, the department also allowed South Africans to mix their vaccine dosages and reduced the waiting intervals between vaccine doses because of the nation’s excess stock.
Despite these measures, less than half of South Africa’s adult population has received a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Fifth wave arrives
The fifth wave of Covid-19 has arrived in South Africa. On Saturday, the NICD reported that testing revealed 8,524 new cases of Covid-19 at a 31.1% positivity rate.
The health department also reported 11 deaths — five of which occurred over the past 48 hours.
This brings South Africa’s official Covid-19 death toll to 100,516.
#COVID19 UPDATE: 27,424 tests were conducted in the last 24hrs, with 8,524 new cases, which represents a 31.1% positivity rate. Today @HealthZA reports 11 deaths; of which 5 occurred in the past 24–48 hrs. Total fatalities are 100,516 to date: https://t.co/0iSKzEzpPS pic.twitter.com/JHes0kwq7z
— NICD (@nicd_sa) May 7, 2022
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