First batch of Covid-19 vaccines to arrive in SA on Monday
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has confirmed that the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines will land in South Africa on February 1.
Mkhize said on Wednesday evening that 1 million doses of the vaccine — from the Serum Institute of India (SII) — will leave India on January 31.
The country's frontline healthcare workers will be the first to receive a jab.
In total, government expects to inoculate some 40 million people in order to achieve herd immunity.
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Mkhize said various processes will be done which include quarantine, quality assurance and reconciliation processes.
The process involves checking how many arrived, if any were broken, or how many had to be sent back.
“These are all necessary for the safe distribution of the vaccine. These processes will take a minimum of 10 days and maximum of 14 days,” said Mkhize. "Upon which we will then be ready to distribute the vaccine to all the provinces."
Mkhize said the arrival of the vaccines is the first step to achieving herd, or population, immunity.
