South Africa welcomes first delivery of COVID-19 vaccines
South Africa gave a hero's welcome on Monday to the delivery of its first COVID-19 vaccines - one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa greeted the crates of vaccine that arrived at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport, which will be followed up later this month by another 500,000 doses of the vaccine.
First jabs of vaccine expected to be administered in mid-February
"The vaccine will be effective in preventing severe disease and death from the variant dominant in South Africa," a vaccine expert says. The AstraZeneca vaccines will be used to inoculate South Africa's frontline health workers, which will kickstart the country's vaccination campaign. The first jabs are expected to be administered in mid-February after vaccines are tested and approved by South Africa's drug regulatory authorities.
Various inoculations expected to offer good protection against the variant
"The arrival of the first vaccines is excellent news and a step in the right direction for South Africa," Professor Willem Hanekom, Director of the Africa Health Research Institute told The Associated Press. Although the variant is expected to reduce the efficacy of the AstraZeneca and other vaccines, Hanekom said initial trials indicate that all the various inoculations will still offer good protection.
All the vaccines prevent severe disease and death: Hanekom
"The most important point that should be emphasized is that while the vaccines offer variable efficacy in preventing the COVID-19 infection, so far severe disease and death are prevented by all the vaccines," Hanekom said from his office in Durban.
Country intends to inoculate 40 million by end of 2021
"So the level of efficacy doesn't matter, all the vaccines seem to work pretty well against severe disease and death, even against this new variant, it appears. And that is very good news," Hanekom said. Meanwhile, South Africa's Government intends to inoculate 40 million people, representing 67% of the country's population of 60 million, by the end of the year.
South Africa has highest number of COVID-19 cases in Africa
South Africa has reported the most COVID-19 cases in Africa, with 1.45 million confirmed cases, including 44,164 deaths, according to official figures. That represents about 41% of all cases reported by Africa's 54 countries, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pfizer vaccine to arrive in the second quarter of 2021
Meanwhile, South Africa's scramble to acquire adequate vaccines to reach the target received a boost with the news that it has acquired 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. "They are expected to arrive in the second quarter of 2021," the government confirmed. "Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize will announce the cost at a later date," said Lwazi Manzi, spokeswoman for the Health Ministry.
South Africa expecting to receive more vaccines through other facilities
In the coming months, South Africa is expecting to receive six million vaccine doses from the international COVAX facility, nine million of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine when it is approved, and an additional 20 million from African Union's vaccine acquisition task team.
