South Africa to secure 1.5million vaccine doses by end of February

South Africa will be receiving a Covid-19 vaccine this month from the Serum Institute of India (SII).

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Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced that it will get 1.5million doses of the SII/AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of February.

A million dosages are expected to arrive in January and 500,000 doses in February.

Frontline health workers will be the first to get the vaccine.

“SII has given us permission to make a public announcement and start engaging with all relevant stakeholders in preparation for the rollout,” Minister Mkhize said.

Adding that the vaccine has already been approved by various regulators and is being rolled out in other countries.

“We also want to inform the public that the acquisition has been done directly by the Department of Health. This strengthens the credibility of the process as all the negotiations and payment issues are managed directly by the government with the manufacturer,” Mkhize said.