South Africa has begun vaccinating citizens over the age of 60 - the second group to be
prioritized, after healthcare workers. South Africa has the continent's highest number
of coronavirus cases, but so far it has only vaccinated one percent of its population.
While more than a million South Africans over 60 have registered for the jab, there are
only 87 vaccination centers across the entire nation.
It’s the day Jasmin Mitha has been waiting for, for a long time. As a diabetic, the pandemic
changed her life - and forced the 65-year old to avoid contact with friends and family.
"I need to get the vaccine, because I got chronic conditions. I am a little anxious
for the prick, but I am glad that I am here. It has been very difficult, I lost my brother
through COVID. It has just been a very difficult time for all of us."
The government aims to inoculate more than five million senior citizens by late June
– if enough vaccine doses are supplied. "Although South Africa ordered enough vaccine
for 75 percent of the population - currently only a fraction of that has arrived in the
country. While some rich countries are already debating vaccinating children - many people
with co-morbidities who are younger than 60 don't even know when they can get the jab
in South Africa." "We should have been way ahead of where we
are right now. I think the procurement of vaccines has been way too slow in South Africa.
That is why we as province have been pushing to try and procure ourselves as a province.
Which has been very difficult – a lot of countries are trying to procure. I have sent
letters to international markets saying: We noticed you procured more than one vaccine
for each citizen. Some up to three vaccines for each citizen. Come on, you need to help
us out!" Politicians have been calling for local vaccine
production. But so far no single vaccine in South Africa is produced from scratch. Only
a few fill and finish plus distribution agreements were made for COVID-19 vaccines. And despite
worldwide calls for a waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, leading
pharmaceutical companies say this won’t have an impact in the short term.
"For a country that is trying to develop an industry, we need the trade secret and the
know-how. If you have to bake a cake – my mum makes a chocolate cake. My sister does
the same, but my mum is still the best. It’s those nuances that you won't find in the recipe
book. We experienced in the partnership we have had with Sanofi and Pfizer – we learned
more on the job than on the standard operating procedure."
In the meantime, Jasmin Mitha is finally getting her first shot of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine
– and with it, hope for the future. "It has been difficult for families, especially
for us. You don’t see your grandchildren. You don’t meet your sisters, you don’t
meet your brothers. It has been tough. I look forward for that to change. I look forward
to being together with everybody. Living again." But, as Mitha and others here know – it
will be a long time before life can return to normal. After four months of low infection
rates, the numbers of new cases have been increasing in the past few days. A third wave
of infections
seems inevitable.