Affirming medicine as a public good
12 Jan 2021
11 January 2021, Brandenburg, Schönefeld: A prepared syringe for the Corona vaccination is lying in the vaccination centre in Terminal 5 at the former Schönefeld Airport. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB (Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The Covid-19 pandemic has reached a grim peak in South Africa. A recent article in
GroundUp concludes that it is “highly likely that more than one in every 1 000 South Africans have already died of Covid-19”.
There are a number of new vaccines that have proved to be effective, but there are two broad issues that need to be addressed. The first is that the state needs to act decisively to rapidly make an appropriate vaccine available at scale. The second is that a recent survey has shown that just under half the South African population would not take a vaccine if it were available. Many people, including some with significant social standing and influence