It was a contentious sale that haunts the country.
In mid-March the government sold about a million doses of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine to other African nations after it emerged that its efficacy was substantially reduced by the Beta variant.
Now that the Delta variant is surging through SA, the AZ decision has reared its head again because an analysis by Public Health England (PHE) showed it offered protection of more than 90% against hospitalisation from the variant.
This means its use in SA could now be standing us in good stead.
However, acting health minister Mmamoloko Kubayi stands by the decision made by the government before her appointment.
“We must remember that even with the prevalence of the Delta variant in the country, it does not mean that Beta does not exist, so that is why the decision [to sell the AZ doses] was correct, even though its efficacy is lowered,” she said on Tuesday.
“The Delta presence doesn’t mean it has completely replaced Beta,” she added, “so you will find Alpha, Beta and Delta are all in the country and we are monitoring others too.”
The Delta presence doesn’t mean it has completely replaced Beta, so you will find Alpha, Beta and Delta are all in the country and we are monitoring others too.
— Acting health minister Mammoloko Kubayi
Late last week local scientists announced that the Delta variant was likely responsible for the third wave exceeding figures predicted by modellers.
Then, on Sunday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa moved the country to alert level 4 in a bid to flatten the curve of the third wave.
On Tuesday ministers who serve on the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) gave a public briefing on what these restrictions entailed.
Police minister Bheki Cele threw down the gauntlet about regulation enforcement, saying: “Those who choose to drop the ball” will leave police “no choice but to act”.
He said for the next two weeks it would not be “business as usual” and “law-enforcement officers will play a critical role in ensuring mass compliance”.
Since March 27 last year 46,598 people had been charged for contravening the Disaster Management Act, said Cele, with 7,439 of them arrested during 2020’s alert level 3.
He also confirmed military presence in Gauteng, but emphasised that the army was there to provide medical support and was not permitted to become involved in enforcing regulations.
Minister of employment and labour Thulas Nxesi said his department was “finalising a rapid-response plan to inspect workplaces across provinces for compliance with health and safety”.
He added that regarding TERS payments for industries that have had to shut down again, “social partners will be engaging at Nedlac this week to thrash out income support and I do not want to pre-empt what comes out in discussions on Thursday”.
Regarding criticism that the government had allowed passengers from India into the country, transport minister Fikile Mbalula said: “All passengers are screened and told to wear masks, and we have been advised that the aviation sector and airlines are not superspreaders. We need to balance lives and livelihoods, and people still need to travel for the sake of the economy.”
He added that SA did not have direct flights to or from India so it was a moot point.
“People who come here from India come via other countries [and] are subjected to the same regulations in terms of having a PCR test,” he said.
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