The South African Health Ministry announced on Thursday, 7 January, that it would import 1.5 million vaccines from the Serum Institute of India (SII). The first shipment of 1 million doses will be delivered in January, and the remaining 500,000 doses in the second shipment in February according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, reported AP.
The vaccine has been directly purchased from the manufacturer and the vaccine rollout is being ‘fine tuned’ by the country’s drug regulatory body, SAHPRA to prevent ‘unnecessary delays or regulatory impediments,’ said Mkhize to AP.
The country has reported the most cases of coronavirus in the continent, with more than 1,149,591 confirmed cases, including 31,368 deaths. The country is facing a surge of cases after the discovery of a coronavirus variant in the country, named as 501.V2.
South Africa will prioritise its 1.25 million frontline health care workers who will be inoculated first. Mkhize said earlier in the week that 6 million people or 10 percent of the country’s population will be vaccinated, reported Reuters.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)
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