“South Africa was aiming to immunise 41-million people by the end of the year in order to reach herd immunity, the point at which COVID-19 was no longer spreading. But this level of community protection is hard to achieve when the goal posts keep moving with the emergence of new variants.”
“The current procurement mechanism is counterproductive to attracting investors or safeguarding existing investments. A company might invest massively to scale up its production to meet one particular contract, but two years later, you could lose the entirety of it if the contract changes and you have two years of nothing, then later you might have to upscale again.”
“More than 9-million COVID-19 vaccines are heading for South Africa between April and June, but no companies have yet been put in charge of distributing the jabs nationally.”
“With the first COVID-19 jabs beginning to roll out, South Africa has announced its plan to reach two-thirds of the population once doses reach its shores. The country is hoping to secure direct deals with manufacturers by February. “
“The race for a COVID-19 vaccine has four candidates nearing the finish line — with some getting ready to roll out before the end of the year. But what do the reported efficacy results actually mean and how much will doses cost?”
“Last month, South Africa and India took a bold stance with a joint waiver request to the World Trade Organisation to prevent countries from granting or enforcing patents and other intellectual property on COVID-19 vaccines, drugs, diagnostics and other medical tools until most of the world’s population has received effective vaccines and developed herd immunity.”
“Global efforts to respond to the HIV epidemic were already falling short, with many countries not on track to meet the goal of ending AIDS by 2030. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic threatens to further derail this, with funding and resources being diverted away from HIV.”
“As the country with the highest number of people living with HIV and amongst the countries with a high TB burden, South Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic must include a recovery plan to get HIV and TB responses back on track to achieve the National Strategic Plan 2017–2022 commitments.”
“During epidemics doctors face moral dilemmas forcing them to make decisions against their conscience — such as having to follow treatment guidelines designed to cope with limited resources. COVID-19 is no different.”
“South Africa’s expansion of social grants during lockdown was a good move — new evidence shows such cash transfers are effective in reducing food insecurity. But the country may need more of these and may also have to increase their amounts.”
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