Ramaphosa’s vaccine promises leave more questions than answers, says the DA
The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes the details on the country's Covid-19 vaccine procurement leaves more questions than answers.
In his address on Monday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that government had already secured 20 million doses of the vaccine for 2021.
Ramaphosa said the vaccine would be dispersed in three phases, starting with the frontline healthcare workers.
“In Phase 2, when more vaccines arrive, we will prioritise essential workers such as teachers, police, municipal workers and other frontline personnel.
"We will also prioritise people in institutions like old age homes, shelters and prisons, people over 60 years of age and adults with co-morbidities. The total number we plan to reach in this phase is around 16 million people,” he said.
The remaining adult population - which are approximately 22.5 million people - will then be vaccinated in the third phase.
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But DA leader John Steenhuisen says questions remain around the suppliers and the timing of the arrival of the doses.
The party also wants more answers about the announcement of a vaccine procurement programme involving the African Union (AU).
"When will the AU vaccines be coming from and how will they be divided up among countries? Why are we only hearing about the AU programme now for the first time? How exactly will the vaccines be rolled out?" Steenhuisen asked on Monday evening.
"It is simply a lie that government has been negotiating for vaccines for the past six months. If Ramaphosa wants us to believe that, he needs to provide proof, since either he is lying or the vaccine suppliers are."
Steenhuisen says government needs to provide more clarity around the country's vaccine programme.
"It cannot be stressed enough: vaccines are the only light at the end of this dark and deadly tunnel.
"Herd immunity will only be reached when two-thirds of SA’s population (about 40 million people) are no longer susceptible to the virus.
"We can do this the deadly, painful, expensive way with indefinite rolling lockdown or we can vaccinate at scale."
