Vaccine rollout ‘still on course’, assures Mkhize
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is adamant the country’s vaccine rollout will be completed by early 2022.
This means South Africa would reach population immunity from Covid-19 by the turn of the year.
This comes amid signs that the rollout of government’s vaccine campaign is lagging behind and it would miss its targets for the inoculation of healthcare workers.
Mkhize, on his daily Covid-19 report on Wednesday, said 263 878 health care workers had been vaccinated.
ALSO READ: SA reports 58 new Covid-19 related deaths
Speaking on Morning live on Thursday morning, Mkhize assured the country that the inoculation programme was still on course.
"Everything is ready, all the vaccines are ready," said Mkhize. "There is a compulsory period of waiting for safety and security check.
"They have to keep them for a month after being produced so they've been manufactured. We're going according to the manufacturing period of the company.
"I think everyone should be assured that we are on course."
Mkhize explained that because the country started the programme late in the year, the programme will only conclude early next year.
"Because we didn't in January we started late in February we had to push it towards the early part of 2022.
"What we get by herd immunity is something that will be asserted at that point."