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Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said all security measures are in place for the delivery of the first batch of Pfizer vaccines, expected to arrive on Sunday evening.
The Minister said in a statement on Sunday the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure has considered all the security arrangements- from when the vaccine lands at ORTIA, to when it is transported to the vaccination sites.
“They have engaged all security agencies to ensure all necessary security procedures are in place for safe delivery of the vaccines and made the necessary arrangements with the Police,” Mkhize said.
He said after arrival the entire batch will be transported initially to a central warehouse after which samples will be sent to the National Control Laboratory for quality assurance.
Mkhize said after release the Pfizer vaccine will be distributed to the provinces.
“Following this initial delivery of Pfizer we are expecting approximately the same number of doses, that is 325 260, to arrive on a weekly basis to a total of over 1,3 million doses by the end of May.”
Mkhize said with regards to the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, the government had been informed that the doses awaiting dispatch in Gqeberha are expected to be released around the middle of May.
He said this is due to a protracted safety verification process with international regulatory agencies (FDA, EMA and SAHPRA).
The Health Minister said this was a precautionary measure following the adverse findings during inspection of Emergent BioSolutions Bayview facility in the United States, one of the manufacturing partners of Johnson and Johnson.
He said these assessments were still underway.
“We are confident that the final outcome will be positive and that, provided there are no further disruptions, Johnson and Johnson will be in a position to release the stock from the Aspen plant in Gqeberha by the middle of May,” he said.
