South Africa’s coronavirus vaccination campaign will target the country’s most needy people like health workers, teachers, security agents, the aged and the infirm nationwide, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday.
Writing in his weekly letter, Ramaphosa said the country is expecting to receive its first batch of 1.5 million doses from India to kick off the campaign later this week.
Receiving the 1.5 million Astra-Zeneca vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India – the world’s largest vaccine producer – signals the start of a mass vaccination campaign that will be the most ambitious and extensive in the country’s history, he said.
“It will reach all parts of the country and will be phased to ensure that those most in need are prioritised. The first vaccines to arrive will be provided to healthcare workers in the first phase,” Ramaphosa said.
He added: “The second phase will include essential workers, teachers, the elderly and those with co-morbidities.”
The third phase will include other adults in the population, he said.
The comprehensive rollout strategy and an accompanying logistical framework would be implemented in partnership with the private sector, civil society, traditional leadership, the religious sector and others, according to the president.
“It is vital that this is a society-wide campaign in which everyone is involved and nobody is left behind,” he wrote, adding that the arrival of the vaccine “gives great hope for our country’s social and economic recovery – and, most importantly, for the health of our people.”
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the country aims to achieve “herd immunity” during the campaign by vaccinating 40 million people out the country’s 50 million-plus population.
Some 40,000 South Africans have died from the deadly virus since its outbreak in the country 10 months ago.
NM/jn/APA