This will address a key demand made by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and other suppliers.
The regulations on the Covid-19 Vaccine Injury No-Fault Compensation Scheme, released by the department of health on Thursday, propose the establishment of a panel led by a retired judge and other experts to adjudicate vaccine-related claims.
The finance minister will issue regulations setting out how much compensation will be paid.
Claims may not be filed in court until they have been processed by the panel, but its rulings may be appealed.
As government we have found ourselves in a precarious position of having to choose between saving our citizens’ lives and risking putting the country’s assets into private companies’ hands.
UPDATE 2-South Africa says non-refundable downpayments among onerous vaccine terms Reuters 3 hrs ago Country has signed big vaccine deals with J&J, Pfizer Minister says manufacturers made difficult demands Paused J&J rollout on Tuesday over U.S. blood clot reports Minister signals pause may be short-lived (Adds quotes, detail, SAHPRA)
By Wendell Roelf and Alexander Winning
CAPE TOWN, April 14 (Reuters) - South Africa agreed to onerous conditions like non-refundable downpayments to secure COVID-19 vaccines from Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Pfizer, its health minister said on Wednesday, describing terms vaccine manufacturers had demanded as difficult and sometimes unreasonable .
The country worst-hit by the pandemic on the African continent in terms of coronavirus infections and deaths is counting on the single-dose J&J and double-shot Pfizer vaccines to ramp up immunisations after a slow start. It has signed deals with the two firms for a combined 61 million doses,