Winde vows to find a Covid-19 vaccine ‘personally’
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says he’s rolling up his sleeves in the search for a Covid-19 vaccine.
On Tuesday, Winde told media that he is actively looking for a suitable vaccine for residents in the province.
This comes as national government weighs its options on the vaccines available on the market.
Winde said while he is on board with national government’s plans, he believes his search of a vaccine could expedite the procurement process.
“I, myself, am really working hard to find vaccines that we can bring to the system as quickly as possible, but obviously we’ve got a national approach and if I can find supply earlier and quicker then that’s exactly what I will do.”
Winde said the Western Cape provincial government has almost finalised its preparations for a vaccine rollout.
“We are busy finalising the total rollout, that is where do the vaccines rollout, how is it going to take place, how many needles are needed and gloves, at which clinics, at which public and which private spaces can that happen and so that plan is almost in finality now.”
The province has the second highest active infections in the country with more than 44 000 cases.
Some 7 352 fatalities have been recorded since March 2020.
“We don’t have the luxury of a New Zealand lockdown every time we get a couple of cases,” Winde added.
“We’ve got to make sure that we’ve got a number of different mechanisms in our arsenal of which vaccines are a part of them.”
At the end of last year, South Africa paid R283 million towards the COVAX Covid-19 vaccine distribution scheme.
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