The South African Medical Association (SAMA) says the Department of Health has secured enough coronavirus vaccines to vaccinate healthcare workers across the country.
Nursing unions have voiced concerns over government’s plans to roll out the vaccine saying healthcare workers have not been given clarity on the distribution plan for administering the jabs to the public.
SAMA’s chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee says, “The first group would be people who are in direct contact with patients that might be sick. Then you go to nurses and doctors not working in those medical wards. We also need to vaccinate the cleaners and other people in the healthcare facility.”
“I think the numbers are around 800 000 healthcare workers and we have 1 million doses, so we have enough for the first phase.”
The video below is the full interview with Dr Coetzee:
One million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in South Africa on Monday, marking a crucial milestone in the country’s fight against the pandemic.
