Tight security awaits delivery of the first batch of 325,260 doses of the United States-manufactured Pfizer coronavirus vaccines which are expected to arrive by air cargo in South Africa on Sunday midnight, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has said.
The US batch is part of a total of 1.3 million vaccines that Pretoria has secured from Pfizer in batches to add to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine supplies whose distribution has covered the first phase of the country’s vaccination programme which started two months ago.
According to the minister on Sunday, South Africa would secure 4.5 million doses of the Pfizer drug by the end of June as the country on 17 May embarks on its second phase of the vaccination programme whose first phase kicked off in February.
“Following this initial delivery of Pfizer, we are expecting approximately the same number of doses to arrive on a weekly basis to a total of more than 1.3 million doses by the end of May,” the minister said.
“Thereafter, the vaccine supply will increase to an average of 636,480 doses weekly from 31 May, which will see us accumulating close to 4.5 million doses by the end of June,” Mkhize said.
On the security needed to keep the much-sought after medication safe, the minister said that “the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure has considered all the security arrangements — from when the vaccine lands at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to when it is transported to the vaccination sites.”
Mkhize said: “We have engaged all security agencies to ensure all necessary security procedures are in place for safe delivery of the vaccines and made the necessary arrangements with the police.”
On arrival the entire batch would be transported initially to a central warehouse for safekeeping, while samples of the vaccines would be sent to the National Control Laboratory for quality assurance, he said.
After clearance, the vaccines would be distributed to the various provinces for the vaccination programme, he added.
South Africa’s Covid-19 vaccination programme has targeted 46 million people out of the country’s 50 million inhabitants to create a herd immunity that would slow down the pandemic which broke out in the country in April 2020.
NM/as/APA