AfriForum and Solidarity were disingenuous when they boasted on Tuesday about the success of their legal action against the government around the private procurement of vaccines. Upon closer inspection it becomes clear the action was misguided. Their pending court case against “the government’s monopoly on the buying and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines” has now been dropped.
“We are delighted that continued pressure from Solidarity and AfriForum has resulted in employers, medical funds and other private institutions now being able to approach manufacturers with confidence for negotiations on vaccines,” crowed Solidarity COO Dirk Hermann. But an affidavit filed in the North Gauteng High Court by health director-general Sandile Buthelezi offers a different perspective, saying the case brought by AfriForum and Solidarity was “entirely hypothetical and speculative”.
In reality, it is practically impossible for private companies to buy vaccines. This is because no person or organisation can procure and distribute vaccines in SA if the product has not been approved first by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority. Also, the department pointed out in its affidavit, AfriForum and Solidarity had failed to provide the court with any evidence that there were now private companies seeking to start their own procurement drive.
Remember the outrage around SA’s own billionaire Johann Rupert jumping the queue for a Covid-19 vaccination in January?
AfriForum and Solidarity argue it only lodged the court papers to force the government to provide clarity. “AfriForum and Solidarity had to launch a court application to finally get a response from government — whereas a simple response to our initial letter would have cost the government almost no time at all.” Now, the bodies said, the government had admitted under oath in its court documents that there was no statutory restriction on the private sector regarding the purchase of vaccines. The nationalisation of the vaccination process needed to stop, added AfriForum and Solidarity.
It is too soon to say whether the government’s vaccine rollout is failing. It is true that our government has a dire track record but there are several factors that need to be kept in mind. The SA government is already working with private medical aids in its vaccine rollout. The same is happening elsewhere in the world. Vaccine manufacturers are choosing to work with governments because they can offer guarantees private sector companies can’t.
There is also the matter of the fair and equitable distribution of vaccines. Remember the outrage around SA’s own billionaire Johann Rupert jumping the queue for a Covid-19 vaccination in January? This will be an inevitable outcome if private companies start owning the rollout. Those with money will benefit while the poor and vulnerable will come last — including many with comorbidities who need the vaccinations more urgently than some rich enough to buy their way to immunity.
But this does not give the government a free pass to take its time. Our health department should not need to be told the rollout has to be expedited. Otherwise further court action from the Solidarities and the Afriforums will be the least of its problems; the third and fourth waves are looming.
