DA asks the government to publish its COVID-19 vaccination plans



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The party said on Friday that securing a vaccine for South Africa should be the government’s number one priority.

FILE: Professor Martin Veller (left), Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand (University of Wits), receives an experimental vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit (RMPRU) at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto on July 14, 2020. Six senior physicians from Wits University School of Health Sciences volunteered to participate in the first COVID-19 vaccine trial from South Africa. Image: AFP

JOHANNESBURG – The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Friday called on the government to publicly disclose vaccination plans.

ALSO READ: SA fails to meet Covax’s payment deadline

The party said securing a vaccine for South Africa should be the government’s number one priority.

The Health Department previously pledged that the National Treasury would finalize the late payment to the Covax program on Friday.

The department blamed an administrative failure for the delay in South Africa’s payment to participate in the World Health Organization (WHO) global access facility for the COVID-19 vaccine.

The prosecutor said the government delay was jeopardizing the country’s access to the vaccine.

“Very few details have been shared about the payment schedule and the actual purchase of the vaccine. Experts have warned that the transportation, storage and allocation of the vaccine is a complex process that must be developed and shared with the nation, ”DA deputy and health spokesman Siviwe Gwarube said in a statement.

READ: The health department assures that the SA COVID-19 vaccination plan is still on the way

“We don’t need to wait for the vaccine to know and understand how the government intends to navigate the complex terrain that is South Africa. We also have no idea what will be the priority of the launch of the vaccine, “he added.

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