17 May: Commencement of 2nd Phase of Covid19 Vaccine Rollout
- Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has revealed the starting date of the second phase of the country's vaccination programme
- The second phase will start on 17 May and the country has secured a massive 51 million vaccine doses
- Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize spoke to the media on Thursday in Gauteng about the rolling out of the vaccine
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In Gauteng on Thursday, 8 April, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced that the second rollout of the country’s vaccination programme will commence on 17 May. Dr Mkhize continued by confirming that the country has secured 51 million doses of the expected 42 million.
Mkhize spoke to the media to confirm that 17 May is the end of the Phase 1 vaccination programme.
Dr Zweli Mkhize reiterated that protecting health workers against Covid-19 is essential and promised that the government will continue to prioritise them, confirming that all essential workers will be vaccinated first before the mass rollout begins.
Source: Getty Images
According to BusinessTech, Dr Zweli Mkhize stated that the government is persistently working to obtain more vaccinations in order to make sure that those unaccounted for or undocumented are also able to be vaccinated
Following reports by FSNews Dr Zweli Mkhize confirmed that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will supply 31 million vaccinations while 20 million will be supplied by Pfizer. 1.2 million vaccinations are expected from Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access, Covax.
Previously, Briefly News reported that the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has granted Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies registration for their Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine. According to a statement by Sahpra, the vaccine was registered on 31 March.
The registration was done in terms of Section 15(6a) of the Medicines and Related Substance Act 101 of 1965. Sahpra said the registration signals a big step in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic in the country.
It was also recently reported that a court order approved the use of Ivermectin if prescribed by a licensed practitioner. According to IOL, the order also allows for access to imported Ivermectin which may be provided under the provisions of the Medicines Act.
The drug has now been listed as Schedule 3 and can be used for 'off-label' use; meaning it can be used in the treatment of Covid-19.
News24 revealed that the court order stated that licensed practitioners will be allowed to prescribe the medicine at their professional discretion. The publication also revealed that a number of medical practitioners stated that no applications for the use of the drug had been approved following the court order.
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Source: Briefly News
