Public Management

Covid-19: South Africa plans to vaccinate at least 67% of its population before 2021 ends

Covid-19: South Africa plans to vaccinate at least 67% of its population before 2021 ends
Wednesday, 06 January 2021 13:10

The South African government said it plans to vaccinate at least 67% of its population before the end of the current year. The info was given on January 3 by the health minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize (pictured) during a press conference on the national vaccine rollout strategy.

The official said the three-phase campaign will first focus on frontline health workers. For this part of the population, the country plans to vaccinate 1,250,000 people. Phase II targets essential workers, people in crowded places, people over 60 years of age, and people over 18 years of age with co-morbidities. The goal is to reach 16,600,000 people. Finally, the third phase will target additional people over 18 years of age, representing a population of 22,500,000 people.

“At this stage, we have secured the doses that will be acquired through Covax which will ensure we immunize 10% of the population through this mechanism […] Having secured vaccine for 10% of the population, we have embarked on other efforts to get the rest of the 57% of the population to be targeted by the end of 2021,” the minister explained.

“More importantly, we are making efforts to obtain vaccines much earlier, hopefully as soon as February 2021. This will very much depend on the success of bilateral negotiations we are holding with companies,” he added.

To finance the campaign, the South African government is betting on help from the private sector as well as the country’s key health insurers, via a solidarity fund that provides a fundraising platform for accelerated and controlled purchase procedures.

Also, to maximize the availability of vaccine stocks for the country, the government is negotiating with all manufacturers, including Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca, as well as Russian and Chinese laboratories.

"We are on sensitive discussions and at this stage are bound by Non-Disclosure Agreements but we will make announcements as soon as negotiations are concluded," the Minister said.

South Africa is the country most affected by the covid-19 pandemic on the African continent with more than one million cases to date and 30,000 deaths. Recently, a new variant of the virus has emerged in the country and is reported to be 50% more contagious.

Additional Info

  • communiques: Non
  • couleur: N/A
On the same topic
Côte d’Ivoire will receive $234 million for a sustainable urban mobility project in Abidjan. Gambia will receive $32.2 million to build...
Stanbic IBTC and Zenith Bank cut monthly card spending abroad to $500 and $200 Foreign reserves fall by $3.5 billion in six...
Cauri Money launches Gajo Money, an e-wallet for the Cameroonian diaspora, targeting €120 million in transactions by end-2025. The fintech...
• Kenya and ASR sign deal to reduce risk on projects worth up to $2 billion.• Risk cover will target infrastructure, energy, logistics, and trade...
Most Read
01

• Investors seem to keep focusing on yields, which are high for the moment• New Leadership might see...

Afreximbank Bonds Retain Market Confidence Despite Moody’s Downgrade
02

• Inflation within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) fell to a two-year low of 0....

UEMOA: Inflation Drops to 0.6% in May, Driven by Lower Food Prices
03

• Qatar Airways and Kenya Airways establish strategic agreement, introducing a third daily flight be...

Qatar Airways Expands its Network in Africa, Building Presence in Kigali, Johannesburg, and Nairobi
04

• EY is preparing to leave Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa by 2026• The exit could unlock $500 m...

EY’s Exit Creates $1bn Opportunity in Francophone Africa Consulting Market
05

• Interbank volumes rose 18.7% in May, while rates declined across the market• The BCEAO cut its mai...

WAEMU Sees Easing Conditions on Regional Interbank Market
Enter your email to receive our newsletter

Ecofin Agency provides daily coverage of nine key African economic sectors: public management, finance, telecoms, agribusiness, mining, energy, transport, communication, and education.
It also designs and manages specialized media, both online and print, for African institutions and publishers.

SALES & ADVERTISING

regie@agenceecofin.com 
Tél: +41 22 301 96 11 
Mob: +41 78 699 13 72
Média kit : Download

EDITORIAL
redaction@agenceecofin.com

More information
Team
Publisher

ECOFIN AGENCY

Mediamania Sarl
Rue du Léman, 6
1201 Geneva
Switzerland

 

Ecofin Agency is a sector-focused economic news agency, founded in December 2010. Its web platform was launched in June 2011. ©Mediamania.

 
 

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.