Two Million Pfizer Vaccines Expected in SA Today from USA

South Africa is expecting to receive at least 2.2 million more Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses today, donated by the USA.

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla announced the news yesterday, saying the doses are being donated via the COVAX facility – an international group lobbying for the equal access to and procurement of vaccines.

Phaahla said the arrival of the vaccine doses would ensure that the country has a stable supply of the vaccine:

“We are grateful to the government of the USA for donating through the COVAX facility another 2.2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccines, which are arriving on Saturday, 28 August 2021, adding to the 5.6 million we received in July. This donation will reinforce our stock levels.”

Calls for Covid-19 vaccination to be mandatory

Meanwhile, Phaahla acknowledged that there have been calls by some for the COVID-19 vaccination to be made mandatory.

“A suggestion has been made by various influential people in society that we should consider a mandatory vaccination policy. This is a matter which we are very reluctant to venture into but it is a matter which we are discussing in various forums.”

The Minister clarified that this is not a proposal the SA government is expected to implement.

“We are discussing under what conditions this might be possible, but in my view… we don’t foresee a kind of regulation or some kind of national government regulation that says everybody must vaccinate.

“We really wouldn’t really want to go that route. But what is possible and what we consider is that where various service providers or areas of entertainment or where people obtain services or even workplaces… there is a possibility that a locally determined requirement can be [made].

“We believe that [is where] it could be done but we don’t foresee where it can be a regulation as part of the Disaster Management [Act] to say it’s compulsory for every adult.”

Vaccines: The Ethical Dilemma

This week Carte Blanche looks at how COVID-19 vaccines have shifted the outlook for COVID-19’s stranglehold on the globe – but only if a critical percentage choose to get jabbed. The show asks: Are mandatory vaccinations the answer to get the world back to a pre-COVID norm, or do individuals who choose not to be vaccinated have a legal right to opt out? Globally, the move towards shifting the burden of the pandemic onto the unvaccinated is growing. But are we looking at a future wherein the unvaccinated will be marginalised? And how do we balance the freedom of individuals with the rights of society at large? (Producer: Stenette Grosskopf | Researcher: Laura Byrne | Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli)

Watch the show on Showmax International overseas | Watch in SA on DStv Now

Extra J&J vaccine shots

Dr Phaala said the possible need for extra shots of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – which are said to dramatically increase antibodies against COVID-19 – is also under discussion but the current focus remains on rolling out the current vaccines to as much of the population as possible “to make sure that we reach immunity population coverage”. – SAnews.gov.za