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- The nation’s top vaccine adviser has revealed who will be first in line to receive the Covax vaccine.
- The Covax program will allow 10% of South Africans to be vaccinated.
- An immunologist says that an effective vaccine should induce antibodies to neutralize and kill the virus that causes Covid-19.
Healthcare professionals, the elderly and essential workers will be among the first to receive the Covax vaccine, South Africa’s top vaccine adviser told News24.
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Although the country’s Covax vaccine implementation plan is still in progress, Professor Barry Schoub, chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Vaccines, has outlined the categories of people who will be the first to be inoculated.
“There are about four groups of people who should get vaccinated first,” he told News24.
- The first group consists of front-line health workers and non-professional health workers.
- The second group is made up of people aged 75 and over, and older people living in nursing homes, as well as staff.
- This would be followed by essential workers, defined as people who perform jobs that are considered vital to keeping the country afloat.
- Next in line would be prisoners and institutionalized people.
“Besides Covax, there are other bilateral negotiations with vaccine manufacturers,” Schoub said, adding that he could not discuss the details of the same.
After administrative problems, South Africa secured their entry to the Covax facility after the Health Department and the Solidarity Fund paid around R283 million.
READ | South Africa finally makes a Covax advance to secure vaccines
Covax is an international initiative for obtaining vaccines. The program is administered by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) and the World Health Organization.
The Covax vaccine is expected to be delivered to South Africa in the first half of 2021 and will cover approximately six million people.
The country will have to prioritize who gets the vaccine first because initially, it probably won’t be able to get large amounts, said the chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Committee, Professor Salim Abdool Karim.
“The highest on our list would be those who have a very high risk of infection and those would be mainly healthcare workers. Next on the list would be those who suffer the most severe consequences of the disease: the elderly and people with comorbidities. Then we have to make sure that we can provide the vaccine to our essential workers, “he said in a video clip that Health Minister Zweli Mkhize shared on Twitter.
Do you still need to get vaccinated if you have had Covid-19?
Everyone should get the vaccine, Abdool Karim said, noting that it would serve as a valuable booster dose for those who have already contracted the coronavirus.
He said those who already had Covid-19 were expected to develop some antibodies, giving them some level of protection.
“The level of protection may not be adequate to protect against reinfection, so it is advisable that everyone, whether they have had the coronavirus infection in the past or not, get the vaccine.”
The finer details of the Covax vaccine implementation plan for the country are still being worked out and will be announced in due course, the health department told News24.
Not everyone should get vaccinated
Professor Burtram Fielding, a molecular biologist who has worked primarily on coronavirus since 2003, believes that not everyone should get vaccinated.
“Those over 55 years of age, with comorbidities, medical personnel and those who care for the elderly or other people at high risk of developing severe Covid-19 should have access to the vaccine first,” he told News24.
Fielding added that when people at risk of developing severe Covid-19 do not take the vaccine, people who live in the same household as them should consider taking the vaccine.
The immune response that a Covid-19 vaccine should provoke
A Covid-19 vaccine should induce long-lasting antibodies that have the ability to neutralize the virus and eliminate the vehicles in our body that make new viruses, said immunologist Professor Thomas Scriba.
“Covid-19 vaccines should affect the ability of the virus to infect new cells and therefore cannot replicate efficiently. Furthermore, it should induce long-lasting T cell responses that can recognize and kill cells that are infected. with the virus “. he told News24.
READ ALSO | Only 3% of South Africa will receive the vaccine under the Covax deal
On Wednesday, the health department warned the public of stricter restrictions after deaths increased by more than 400 and infections increased by more than 14,000.
“This indicates that the virus continues to spread exponentially; in fact, the rate of spread is much faster than the first wave and we will exceed the peak of the first wave in the next few days.”
The country is hit by a second wave of Covid-19 infections, fueled by a new variant of the deadly pathogen.
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