South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday urged the people to support the government’s efforts to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as it struggles to implement a vaccination program and an economic recovery plan, reported Africa News.
Earlier this week, the government suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as part of the country’s COVID-19 vaccination drive after a study found the vaccine to be minimally effective in preventing mild to moderate cases of the disease caused by the variant dominant in South Africa.
Instead, it has been decided that the one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine will be given to healthcare workers. The rollout of the vaccines is expected to start next week after approval from the country’s South African Health Products Regulatory Authority.
“We have secured 9 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The first batch of 80,000 doses will arrive in the country next week,” President Ramaphosa said while delivering his State of the Nation Address to parliament in Cape Town on Thursday.
He said further deliveries of the vaccine would be made over the next four weeks, reaching a total of 500,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
The South African president, however, didn’t say what the government intends to do with the 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that it has purchased, following its decision not to use it to inoculate front-line healthcare workers.
Ramaphosa also vowed to tackle the widespread corruption in the country specifically allegations related to the government’s procurement of personal protective equipment to protect health workers from COVID-19, with the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.
Last week, the South African Special Investigating Unit reported that it is investigating suspected fraud in 164 contracts worth $238 million, nearly half of the country’s budget for COVID-19 supplies.
He said the members of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council would be appointed soon.
