The first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines will be received to much fanfare and political breast beating at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday, carrying with it the hope that, finally, the grim shadow of death that has been hanging ever so ominously over a vulnerable population will begin to lift.
Although the arrival of the 1.5 million doses of the Oxford University AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India represents a significant milestone in dealing effectively with a virus that has so far killed more than 43 000 South Africans, it in no way calls for a celebration, because the road ahead is still going to be long and hard and fraught with many pitfalls.
We are where we are partly because of the government’s reactive and lackadaisical approach in dealing with the sourcing of vaccines right from the beginning. It is telling that, of the top 15 worst hit by the pandemic countries worldwide, South Africa has the ignominy of being the only one still to administer a single jab – months after vaccines became available.
The US, its patchy vaccination programme put together during the reign of a clueless president notwithstanding, has inoculated more than 27 million of its citizens so far. Countries such as Colombia, Mexico and Turkey – who are also on the top 15 list of the worst affected countries with South Africa – have long left the starting block, leaving us napping.
The 1.5 million doses AstraZeneca that arrive in South Africa on Mondy form but a miniscule part of the government’s plan to inoculate more than 40 million people (or 67% of the population) to achieve herd immunity before the end of the year. With many rich countries around the world expressing frustrations with bottlenecks, delays in supplies, hoarding and some vaccine manufacturers not honouring contracts, it seems South Africa, a small player in the global scheme of things, will struggle to achieve its target.
The news at the weekend that South Africa has secured an additional 20 million doses from Pfizer, most of which will come through the Covax facility, is welcome. But with delivery dates still to be confirmed and final agreements still to be signed, we are no closer to being assured that the government is on top of the situation.
With the spectre of a third wave not unthinkable, and winter when the virus is at its most potent approaching, South Africans have every right to be anxious. While we await the delivery of more of these life-saving vaccines in the coming months, it is the responsibility of all of us to adhere to the tried and tested non-pharmaceutical interventions to lower the risk of infections as much as possible.
By Nhlanhla Mbatha, The Star’s news editor.
The Star