From the very start, South African authorities have taken a strategic approach to the coronavirus pandemic, and the implementation of South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination policy is no different.

This is our strategy for achieving ‘herd immunity’ as effectively as possible:

  1. Research and Development
  2. Purchase agreements
  3. Support for local manufacturing
  4. Regulatory approvals
  5. Immunisation administration and monitoring
  6. Selection criteria for vaccine

Phase one and three are ongoing scenarios supported by a considerable budget from government and we’ve entered the COVAX discussion with regard to phase two.

Phase four is already well underway and we hope to see the first immunizations take place within the first quarter of 2021. That brings us to the important part – Phase 5.

President Ramaphosa shed some light on this in mid-January 2021 with his announcement that the first 780,000 vaccines are on their way. These are reserved for health workers to ensure their safety in the ongoing struggle against the virus.

After that, other essential workers, the elderly, and people with co-morbidities are next in line to receive the vaccine. Healthy adults are the last population group on the list.

Will the COVID-19 Vaccine Work Against the New Strain?

Like all things to do with the coronavirus, we’ll need to wait and see regarding this issue. Experts at the World Health Organization agree that the vaccine should work against these new strains.

The vaccine creates a broad immune response, providing a host of antibodies against the virus. Tests are ongoing to confirm this, but this is how vaccines usually react with regard to new strains of the same virus.

Moderna is currently working on a customised booster vaccine for the new strain of coronavirus too.

So, don’t let arguments (especially those on social media) about these issues cause you anxiety. The world’s top scientists have got our backs when it comes to getting us through this, all you need to do is get vaccinated when the time comes.

We’re in the final stages of our battle against the virus and it’s more important than ever to work together to eliminate it once and for all. The COVID-19 vaccine is the most powerful weapon in our arsenal – use it.