EDITORIAL | SA can’t allow Covid politics to put lives at risk

Health minister Zweli Mkhize used his last day in office to appeal to the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to sort out delays in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine rollout. “We are very desperate to get those vaccines; we need them yesterday,” he said. 

On the same day, the acting minister in the presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said the government was speaking to the FDA about an early release of the vaccines. “If they can’t,” she said, “then we will speak to the US government to see if the holdup is only scientific or political. If it is political, then we need to engage so that we can get the vaccines.”

It seems unthinkable that political power games could be standing in the way of preventing Covid-19 deaths across the world. Mkhize is right; SA is desperate for those vaccines. We are still reeling from the AstraZeneca setback. Had it not been for research showing that vaccine did not offer protection against the new, more infectious strain that hit SA shores at the end of last year, we would have had a huge boost ahead of a third wave of infections. SA was already playing catch up; now we are falling even further behind. This time, though, it is not because of our own government’s ineptitude. We are dependent on the FDA to give us the green light to release certain batches of J&J vaccines that may or may not have been manufactured with components contaminated in a US factory.

The FDA needs to determine whether the batches meant for SA were mixed with ingredients of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 shot. Both J&J and AstraZeneca’s key ingredients are manufactured in the same factory. The FDA asked J&J and AstraZeneca a week ago for a risk assessment. By Wednesday evening, the situation remained uncertain. 

Research suggests that in some places in SA, at least 75% of a year’s worth of learning was lost in 2020. We do not want a repeat of last year.

Teachers are next in line to get the jab and time is on no-one’s side. Already the education department has cancelled midyear exams for matriculants to help them catch up on lost work. Many schools across the country have resorted to online learning as Covid-19 cases spike among children and teachers. Research suggests that in some places in SA, at least 75% of a year’s worth of learning was lost in 2020. We do not want a repeat of last year.

It is a race against time in more ways than one. We want to get as many people vaccinated as soon as possible and we do not want the vaccines to expire. The 500,000 J&J vaccines that would be made available for teachers and support staff in SA must be used by June 28. 

SA cannot afford to be in such a helpless situation. We understand the difficult situation  Sahpra is in; it is awaiting feedback from the FDA and, until it has shared its reports with local regulators, Sahpra has insufficient information to approve the specific batches.

Ntshavheni suggested the reason for the delay is either scientific or political. If it is political, then SA will speak to the US government, she said. Even if the reason is scientific, SA should still be using its political channels to impress the urgency on US authorities. 

Reuters reported on Wednesday that US President Joe Biden would be announcing a vaccine plan for the world, as he headed to Europe for his first foreign trip. “I have one, and I’ll be announcing it,” Biden said before he boarded Air Force One to attend the G7 summit in the UK. Here, an agreement is expected to be made on a reduction of export restrictions on Covid-19 vaccines and drugs.

SA is a guest of the G7 summit. President Cyril Ramaphosa has described it as an opportunity to seek broader support for equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. This is our chance to be proactive, make our own concerns heard, and as Ntshavheni ​says, “engage so we can get the vaccines”.