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By Theolin Tembo 
1 hour ago
Cape Town – The Western Cape has unveiled what it has called its ‘proactive strategy’ to access Covid-19 vaccines which has been approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra).
The strategy was highlighted during the weekly digital conference hosted by Western Cape Prime Minister Alan Winde.
The Prime Minister along with Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo and the Head of the Health Department, Dr. Keith Cloete, discussed the move to lockdown level 2, as well as provided an update on the Covid-19 health response.
As of Tuesday, December 29, the Western Cape has 37,355 active Covid-19 infections with a total of 199,353 cases and 155,486 recoveries.
The Western Cape has recorded an additional 180 deaths, bringing the total number of Covid-19-related deaths in the province to 6,512.
Cloete broke down the various steps being taken to access Sahpra-approved vaccines, adding that the province was already engaged with Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize.
Other measures include:
- Technical experts will conduct a formal options evaluation of all available vaccine candidates, in terms of efficacy, safety, affordability, etc.
- The province has highlighted two groups that will be prioritized for the vaccine: health workers and other essential workers; vulnerable groups: the elderly and people with comorbidities.
- Demand forecast and cost calculation: estimated number of vaccines needed by prioritized category; and cost estimates and budget confirmation.
- Thereafter, concrete steps and timelines will include the approval of Sahpra, then the development of a sourcing and distribution strategy to provide vaccines in early 2021.
Parties in the Western Cape legislature expressed their views on the news of the vaccine strategy.
DA Provincial Head Mireille Wenger said: “Having missed the payment deadline twice, the national government must act quickly and accelerate a comprehensive vaccination strategy.
“Without this, we will continue to see the third and fourth waves, and a losing battle to maintain lives and livelihoods.
“This is why we support the province’s proactive strategy to access Sahpra-approved vaccines, and we are also pleased to note that Prime Minister Winde’s government has officially engaged its national counterparts in this regard.”
Good match MPL Brett Herron said: “The most important thing is to ensure an integrated and coordinated program for vaccine distribution.
“We need both the national government and the provincial government to work together in the deployment of vaccines.
“We must avoid a tug of war between the province and the national program.
South African scientists have been involved in the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine that has just been approved in the UK.
“This vaccine has been identified as the most suitable for South Africa,” Herron said.
“It is urgent that both our national and provincial health departments explain how the success of this vaccine will benefit South Africans, if it will be implemented here and when.”
The provincial president of the EFF, Melikhaya Xego, said that the provincial government led by the DA thinks that the province is a republic and “that they are a law in themselves”.
“His plans regarding the vaccine blatantly undermine the national government.
“At a delicate moment, the Prosecutor’s Office will show its contempt for the lives of South Africans living in this province.
“We don’t think their ‘proactive’ approach is genuine,” Xego said.
“For them, this is another opportunity to go left when everyone else goes right.
“The white arrogance and racism of the Winde government will cause serious problems for South Africans.
“There is no vaccine that reaches our coast without the national government knowing it.”
* Additional information from Mwangi Githahu and Nomalanga Tshuma.
Cape argus
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