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A staff member prepares an ampoule of the Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine before administering it at a vaccination center in Cardiff, Britain, on December 8, 2020 (Photo: EPA-EFE / Ben Birchall / POOL).
Thousands sign letter calling for Health Department to act urgently
First Posted by GroundUp
“We call on the Department of Health to act urgently, transparently and decisively now to obtain vaccines and apply vaccination, in order to reduce deaths and illnesses, and control the pandemic.” Then read a lyrics initiated by Professor Heather Zar, leading public sector pediatrician at Cape Town Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
More than 2,500 people had signed the petition at the time of this article’s publication. Many are renowned doctors, nurses and researchers, including Professor Francois Venter, former Director of the Southern African Society of HIV Clinicians, Professor Ntobeko Ntusi, Head of the Department of Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital, Professor Lucille Blumberg from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases and Professor Helen McShane from the University of Oxford.
The letter reads: “Several effective Covid-19 vaccines are being produced and many countries have started or are about to start vaccinating, including some low- and middle-income. South Africa has a strong primary health care system. The success of the antiretroviral program shows what the health system is capable of. We are in a good position to implement vaccination. “
The petition calls on the health department to begin by vaccinating front-line healthcare workers, followed by those most at risk, including the elderly and people with comorbidities.
“I am a health worker and I want to know that I am not putting my clients or my family at greater risk,” wrote Laila Dalwai, who signed the petition.
Did you leave it too late?
Speaking to GroundUp, Shabir Madhi, a vaccination professor at Wits University, criticized the health department’s vaccine procurement strategy. He said the department had put all of its eggs in one basket relying solely on COVAX and leaving bilateral negotiations with pharmaceutical companies too late.
In a interview where ENCA Professor Barry Schoub, head of South Africa’s Ministerial Advisory Committee on Coronavirus Vaccine Development, said South Africa could not afford to buy vaccines in advance as many rich countries have done because it would have meant buying vaccines at risk. In other words, the government would have had to pay for vaccines that were still being tested even if they didn’t work.
But Madhi said this was “nonsense”. He said making an “advance market commitment” with vaccine producers would mean paying only if the vaccine is successfully marketed. That is why countries like Canada have enough committed vaccines to vaccinate their entire population.
A petition by civil society organizations, known as the C-19 Coalition, has also been started.DM
