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CAPE TOWN. — Alan Winde isn’t feeling bright and breezy: SA’s AstraZeneca vaccines were put on hold, and he says the Western Cape is now “bracing for a third wave”.
Third wave loading? South Africa’s vaccine rollout was hit by a hammer blow on Sunday, as new data suggested that the AstraZeneca jabs are “ineffective” for preventing mild cases of Covid-19 (in the SA variant).
The planned vaccination schedule has been shelved — and Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has been left crestfallen by these developments.
Although Professor Salim Abdool Karim claimed this was “no cause for doom and gloom,” you can perhaps forgive the provincial leader for feeling a little downbeat.
Just one week ago, the AstraZeneca vials landed in South Africa, signalling a very literal “shot in the arm” for our route out of lockdown. That avenue has now hit a dead-end.
Of course, other vaccines are set to come online soon — with the Johnson & Johnson jabs likely to be in SA by Friday.
This brand has a proven high-efficacy rate against the Covid-19 variant found in South Africa, and it has the potential to get our vaccine drive back on course within a matter of days.
Winde, however, is still concerned about other troubling factors.
The pensive Premier believes that there may well be a stigma attached to South Africa, given the origins of a variant that is throwing a spanner in the grand works of vaccine production.
Winde claims this news is bad for business, and more importantly, undermines his department’s attempts to “control a third wave” of Covid-19 infections. — The South African.
Online Reporter