SACC: Govt must work with pharmaceuticals to ensure affordable Covd-19 vaccines
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has called on government to negotiate with big pharmaceutical companies for a discount on Covid-19 vaccines.
The SACC says this will ensure that everyone - especially the most vulnerable - have access to the vaccine.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and a panel of experts have already outlined the plan to roll out the vaccine to South Africans this year.
Mkhize said government hopes to obtain a Covid-19 vaccine by February.
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But SACC's Mzwandile Molo wants government to try and shorten the time-frame for any vaccine distribution.
"Because waiting for the second quarter creates the reality that people will be dying in the meantime.
"We secondly ask that government work tirelessly with the private sector, including pharmaceuticals, in finding a strategy that is going to make the vaccine available and affordable to the most vulnerable people.”
He has also urged pharmaceutical companies to not hike prices to the detriment of the marginalised around the world.
