The South African variant of Covid-19 has changed the outlook for the way the coronavirus pandemic is likely to unfold – in South Africa as well as elsewhere. Scientists in South Africa say there is a “reasonable concern” that the new variant of Covid-19 sweeping across the country might prove to be more resistant to current vaccines being rolled out in the UK and elsewhere, and warn that it makes the need for a global roll-out of vaccines “even more critical”. In this episode of Inside Covid-19, we speak to one of South Africa’s leading scientists in the fight against Sars-CoV-2. Professor Shabir Madhi, a globally renowned professor of vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand, has been leading trials for the vaccine in South Africa. He shares the details of the work going on behind the scenes to understand the mutations and what this means for vaccine development, the impact of the disease on people and how governments can respond to the changing threat from th
South African Insurers to Pay for 14 Million Covid-19 Vaccines
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January 7, 2021
(Bloomberg) South African medical insurers will pay for a Covid-19 vaccine for as many people who donât have coverage as they have members and expect the program to cost as much as 7 billion rand ($464 million).
The subsidy will mean that including medical aid members the companies will finance vaccines for 14 million adults in the country of 60 million people, Ryan Noach, the chief executive officer of Discovery Health Ltd., said in an interview on Wednesday. Discovery has already set aside the money, he said.
âThe ultimate effect is the one-to-one cross subsidy,â he said.
South African medical-insurance companies, business organizations and the government are developing a program in which the private sector will help fund…