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South Africa intends to speed up regulatory approval for Covid-19 vaccines and expects the first applications within fifteen days, says the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra).
In an interview with Reuters, the regulator said the government expects to receive its first vaccines from the Covax global vaccine distribution scheme in the second quarter of next year.
“Sahpra will prioritize all Covid-19 applications and apply an accelerated approach to health products, including vaccines,” said spokesperson Yuven Gounden.
The accelerated method will include a “continuous review approach” in which evaluation of the candidate vaccine is done as data becomes available, he said.
The regulator will build on guidance from the World Health Organization and work done by international counterparts, such as European and US pharmaceutical regulators, to avoid repeating work already done that could delay approvals.
“We expect the first applications of the vaccine in the next week or two,” Gounden said.
Covax installation
President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that South Africa is in the process of finalizing its process at the Covax facility, which is a resource sharing initiative that will give countries adequate access to various potential vaccines.
“It is anticipated that we could have access to a suitable vaccine by the second quarter of 2021 and we will initially receive quantities for at least 10% of the population,” he said in a statement this week.
“While this gives us hope, the reality is that it will be some time before we can vaccinate enough South Africans to be certain that there will be little or no transmission of the virus, and it will be an expensive undertaking.
“We need to prepare for this and be ready to make tough decisions about where to find the money and when to deploy it,” he said.
Vaccine delivery
South Africa likely to receive its first delivery of coronavirus vaccinations in the middle of next year after agreeing to a down payment, the Health Ministry said last week.
“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 inventory in the second quarter of 2021,” the department said.
The government is also considering purchasing vaccines from other potential producers, including Johnson & Johnson, Novavax Inc, AstraZeneca Plc, and the association Pfizer Inc and BioNtech.
You need to make sure you have funds and resources for the distribution, storage and administration of the vaccines, the ministry said.
“While the Covax facility is our favorite vehicle for accessing vaccines, we will always explore all options to ensure that the vaccine implementation process is safe and cost-effective,” he said.
Read: Concern about the increase in Covid-19 cases in Gauteng
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