By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The health ministry said on Tuesday that, as of the end of May, there had been 1,045,104 individuals who had either received the single-dose J&J vaccine or the first of the double-dose Pfizer vaccine.
Of these, 479,768 had been vaccinated under the Sisonke protocol and 565,336 under phase 2 of the rollout programme.
“It is my pleasure to announce that we have breached the million mark and have vaccinated 1,045,104 individuals. I wish to thank all involved in the vaccination campaign, from the director-general of health to each and every vaccinator continuing to battle it out for the nation on the front line. We will continue to ramp up daily vaccinations, working together with the private sector towards attaining the targets we have committed to,” said the ministry.
Releasing the figures,Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced that there were 3,614 new cases of Covid-19 recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative number of infections to 1,669,231. The new infections came from 36,677 tests — a positivity rate of 9.85%.
Mkhize also reported that there were 95 new Covid-19 related deaths recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 56,601.
Meanwhile Intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines should not override governments obligations to protect a right to healthcare.
This is according to Deputy International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) Minister Candith Mashego-Dlamini.
She and Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel jointly briefed their respective parliamentary committees on the current negotiations to waive intellectual property (IP) rights for the vaccines at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Mashego-Dlamini said not all countries could produce all vaccines by themselves, and no single country could sustainably supply the whole world with their existing manufacturing capacity.
“All efforts to prevent, treat and contain Covid-19 must be based on the bedrock of human-rights principles of international solidarity, cooperation and assistance.
“There is no room for nationalism or profitability in decision-making about access to vaccines, essential tests and treatments, and all other medical goods, services and supplies that are at the heart of the right to the highest attainable standard of health for all,” she said.
South Africa and India have been at the forefront of the fight to have intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines waived so that developing countries can access them more quickly.
During recent talks in the World Trade Organisation’s general council, its highest decision-making body, the European Union (EU) indicated it was willing to join the US to move towards the TRIPS waiver, while New Zealand explicitly said it, too, was ready to move to text-based negotiations on the matter.
The US government also pledged its support for the waiver.