Government recently released information on which groups of people in South Africa will be first to receive Covid-19 vaccinations. While local experts welcome most of the prioritisation choices, some practical nuances remain unclear.
The Department of Health published its Vaccine Rollout Strategy on the third of January, based on an advisory from the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on Covid-19 Vaccines. The framework for allocation explains that since vaccine amounts are limited, prioritisation is needed and based on both evidence-based practicalities and ethical considerations, including African indigenous values.
The rollout plan has three phases, starting with a target population of 1.25 million frontline healthcare workers (HCWs).
While local experts generally welcome the order in which vaccines will be provided to different categories of people in South Africa, they are concerned that some practical nuances are unclear. Elna Schütz reports.
Vaccinations versus rising Covid infections
Public health experts see the infection rate rising despite the vaccinations and expect a difficult month ahead.
Over the next few weeks, there will be a tussle in Israel between the vaccination drive and rising virus cases - the battle for the R rate, which determines whether the number of Covid-19 infections grows or diminishes. Less vaccinations will mean more infections and more restrictions, and vice-versa.
Prof. Manfred Green, Head of the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa, estimates that to reach a balance between new virus cases without any overall restrictions, especially with the now dominant British variant, Israel needs to vaccinate 80-85% of its population. We are not there and it s not sure that we will get there. There are still and there will probably continue to be a large enough part of the population that will remain unvaccinated, so that without restrictions and if the restrictions are not applied, th