The South African Medical Association (SAMA) says the health sector is likely to encounter issues in the process of administering coronavirus vaccines to patients.
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) has 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.
South Africa received its first consignment of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine from the Serum Institute of India on Monday.
But some citizens remain hesitant about taking the vaccination.
President Cyril Ramaphosa receives the first batch of vaccines:
SAMA chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee says law enforcement officials will be deployed during the transport and administration of the vaccines.
“The overall guidelines, especially on paper, look great. The problem is going to be with the implementation – where you have the patient coming into the hospital and the person who needs to administer the vaccine. I think that is where the problems are going to arise.”
“From the BioVac labs, the vaccines will be directly distributed to the identified clinics and hospitals. There will be a police presence on the road and also when it is being administrated to the patient, there will be a police presence to prevent anyone from stealing it,” explains Coetzee.
The video below is the full interview with Dr Coetzee:
