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Countries like the United States will ensure that their citizens are taken care of first, while the rest of us will have to wait a little longer to be protected from the coronavirus, which has infected more than 55 million people worldwide and has taken a toll. the life of more. than 1.3 million others.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is conducting a COVID-19 vaccine trial together with BioNTech. Image: Supplied.
JOHANNESBURG – If the US pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, and its German partner, BioNtech, have their way, the COVID-19 vaccine they have developed could be launched in a few weeks. But it is still a question when it will arrive in South Africa, and experts say that we could realistically only get a vaccine in mid-to-late 2021.
Another pharmaceutical giant, Moderna, whose vaccine development was funded by the US government, also reported impressive results, with an efficacy of 95% across all age groups.
Countries like the United States, which invested hundreds of millions of dollars in developing candidate vaccines, will make sure their citizens are taken care of first, while the rest of us will have to wait a little longer to be protected from the coronavirus, which has infected more than 55 million people worldwide and over 1.3 million more were killed.
Experts agree on who should be prioritized when the country gets its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines: healthcare workers, patients with comorbidities, the elderly, and others considered high-risk would be first on the list.
But South Africa has options, one of which is the Covax facility.
This initiative of the World Health Organization, the GAVI vaccine alliance (led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), as well as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations aims, among other things, to negotiate prices and ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines for the 184 countries that have registered with the facility.
The co-chair of South Africa’s COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Council, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, said that while it will be much later when the country gets its hands on a vaccine, there are other important things to consider before it can be implemented. any implementation. happen.
“The news of the vaccine has come fast. Now we are all struggling to get all our pieces. We think that [had] all next year. Now we are accelerating those plans, “he explained to Eyewitness News.
These plans include ensuring that the most suitable vaccine for South Africa is chosen, that there is reasonable infrastructure preparation for distribution, and prioritizing who gets it first.
But Karim added that no one knew when the vaccine would be available.
“Remember that these companies have not yet made the vaccines. It is not that the vaccines are [and] they just have to be sent. There is still to be done. We have no idea how long it will take. I think we’ll be lucky if we get vaccinated in the third quarter of next year. “
OBSERVE: The COVID-19 vaccine: ‘SA is at the end of the queue’
Wits University vaccine professor Shabir Madhi believes the government should have started working on these plans a long time ago.
“That we don’t spend another three to six months figuring out how to get vaccines to people. There will be a level of injustice with around 30% of the population having comorbidities and the elderly. We will be lucky if we get up to 20% vaccinations.”
“We’re going to need to be strategic about who gets it. People with diabetes, hypertension, severe obesity. Now that group as a whole is not insignificant. That probably represents 40% of the adult population in South Africa and I don’t even talk about HIV and tuberculosis, ”he said.
Madhi said that if South Africa could secure vaccines for 20-25% of the adult population, it would be a great start.
Other candidate vaccines in human trials are expected to show encouraging results, thus increasing the chances of access. South Africa is already involved in four more human trials, which Madhi said was an advantage for the country.
While rich countries have placed orders in the billions, many countries, including South Africa, will have to wait and in the meantime make sure that strict COVID-19 security protocols are adhered to.
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