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There was great excitement at OR Tambo International Airport when the plane carrying South Africa's first batch of 1-million Covid19 vaccine doses, arrived from Mumbai.
The vaccines were shipped from the Serum Institute of India, with the government saying a further 500 000 vaccine doses are expected this month.
The government says it is ready to roll-out the vaccination programme, which will first target the country's health-care workers.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape Health Department says it is ready to roll out the Covid 19 vaccination program, prioritizing health workers on the first phase.
Department spokesperson Siyanda Nanana, says more than five hundred vaccinators have already been trained.
He says they have already identified hospitals and clinics for the first roll out and that one vaccinator will vaccinate 50 people a day.
Manana says the second phase will include the police, Post Office employees and citizens who are above the age of sixty years.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was also at OR Tambo for the arrival of the vaccine, will convene a family meeting at 8 pm.
The address follows meetings in recent days of the National Coronavirus Command Council, the President’s Coordinating Council and Cabinet.
The President is expected to share more information about the countries vaccine strategy, although many South Africans just want the beaches, churches and bottle stores to open.
