AfriForum and Solidarity will on Thursday morning continue their court action against the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). They want the regulatory body to set aside the condition that only government may purchase the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The two organisations have questioned the legality of these conditions and request more information about them, as set by SAHPRA.
They claim that it is illegal to set conditions that allow the state to centralise vaccines.
The groups say SAPHRA’s mandate is to investigate the efficacy of vaccines and medicines and not to give the state exclusive purchasing rights.
AfriForum, Solidarity urge the private sector to procure COVID-19 vaccines:
The groups say government cannot be trusted in handling the vaccine rollout alone, given the level of corruption it has displayed over time.
Government has recently acknowledged that it was illegal to monopolise the procurement and roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccines, which now allows private medical businesses to procure and distribute the vaccines.
