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A healthcare worker injects a patient with the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine in a phase 3 trial in Turkey, October 2020.
Getty image via Dogukan Keskinkilic / Anadolu Agency
South Africa expects to receive its first batch of Covid-19 vaccines from the global vaccine distribution scheme, Covax, in the second quarter of 2021, the Health Ministry said on Friday.
The ministry added in a statement that it was on track to sign an agreement with the Covax Facility, which is co-chaired by the World Health Organization, by December 15. You will also make the first payment tranche for that date.
The country has recorded more than 800,000 coronavirus infections and more than 21,000 Covid-19-related deaths, the highest number on the African continent.
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The country is looking to buy vaccines for 10% of its population of roughly 58 million people through Covax. The total cost of purchasing that number of doses is about R2.2 billion, of which R327 million is a down payment, the Health Ministry said.
“Our understanding of the production estimates that they have provided us at this stage is that we should expect to receive the first batch of shares in the second quarter of 2021,” the ministry statement said.
The ministry added that no vaccine manufacturers had yet submitted applications to the local health regulator SAHPRA to launch their vaccine candidates.
“However, SAHPRA is committed to ensuring rapid evaluation of these vaccines once the dossiers have been received,” he said.
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