Health
Question by:
Hon Lorraine Botha
Answered by:
Hon Nomafrench Mbombo
Question Number:
2
Question Body:
- Whether the Province, through the national procurement process, has purchased any doses of candidate COVID-19 vaccines in advance; if so, what are the relevant details;
- What are the anticipated timelines for a COVID-19 vaccine roll-out in the Western Cape?
Answer Body:
- The National Government will be the sole purchaser of the COVID-19 vaccines in South Africa and is involved in several bilateral engagements with vaccine suppliers, over and above the COVAX arrangements.
On 7th January 2021 the National Minister of Health announced that South Africa will acquire 1 000 000 doses of the Covishield vaccine from the Serum Institute of India by the end of January and a further 500 000 doses in February 2021. The Western Cape Department of Health has developed a Provincial implementation framework to ensure that vaccines are rolled out safely, efficiently, and ethically when the first doses arrive in the Western Cape. Micro planning, site readiness assessments and vaccinator training is being currently undertaken. It is anticipated that the Department will be able to implement the vaccination of its staff within the available doses within 1-2 weeks of receiving its allocation of vaccines.
Date:
Friday, December 11, 2020
