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By Kelly-Jane Turner 
Dec 24, 2020
Cape Town: Up to six million South Africans, or 10% of the population, will be the first to receive the Covax vaccine and priority will be given to four groups of people.
The chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Committee, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, has revealed that the vaccine will be delivered to the country in the middle of 2021.
The four groups that will receive the jab first will be:
- Healthcare workers
- People aged 75 and over, as well as staff caring for people in nursing homes. People with comorbidities will also be prioritized.
- Essential workers and personnel needed to maintain essential services in the country.
- Institutionalized people, including prisoners
“As we hope that we will not be able to get very large amounts of the vaccine initially, we have to prioritize,” Karim said in a video posted on Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s Twitter account.
#Listen to the experts
The Covax vaccine will be delivered to South Africa in the first half of 2021. So who gets it first? We asked the chairman of the ministerial advisory committee:
Professor Salim Abdool Karim. pic.twitter.com/njqLzMO8E1– Dr. Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) December 23, 2020
The Covax vaccine program is the global initiative to work with vaccine manufacturers to provide countries around the world with equitable access to safe and effective vaccines.
Earlier this week, it was announced that Covax’s stake in the country was secured after an initial payment of $ 19.2 million (approximately R 283 million) was made to secure South Africa’s entry into the facilities of Covax.
South Africa has recorded the highest number of coronavirus infections on the African continent, with more than 954,000 confirmed cases and more than 25,000 deaths to date.
Mkhize warned citizens that current restrictions may need to be reviewed, as the country has recorded more than 14,000 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours.
MESS
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