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More than a third of all Covid-19 cases in Africa have been in South Africa and the numbers are rising with the emergence of a new variant of the virus.
But unlike some other hard-hit countries around the world, South Africa has yet to start its immunization program.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently accused rich countries of “hoarding” vaccine supplies.
Has South Africa Received Covid Vaccines?
South Africa has so far secured twenty million doses, which are expected to be delivered in the first half of 2021, according to President Ramaphosa.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said he expects the first batch to arrive at the end of January, with the vaccination schedule starting in February.
South Africa seeks to obtain vaccines in three ways:
– via the Covax program supported by the World Health Organization
-by arrangements made by the African Union
-by bilateral contracts with vaccine manufacturers
Covax is a global initiative in which countries pool resources to support vaccine development to ensure all countries receive an equitable supply of effective vaccines.
South Africa plans to acquire doses for around 10% of the population through Covax and has been told it will receive them from April to June.
The African Union created the African Vaccine Procurement Task Force last year to find vaccine doses for the continent.
But it looks like the vaccines won’t be available for several months.
Source: BBC
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