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- Deputy President David Mabuza has called on South Africans to continue following all Covid-19 health protocols.
- His warning comes amid a third wave, which is spiking infections.
- Mabuza was in the NCOP for a question-and-answer session.
"This is no time to get tired," said Deputy President David Mabuza, who called on South Africans to follow all health protocols amid a third wave of Covid-19 infections.
Mabuza on Tuesday answered questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
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Mabuza told MPs there were challenges with the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine, but the government was forging ahead with its programme.
"We want to get out of this problem of Covid-19, and we think it is only through vaccination," said Mabuza. "In the meantime, we have insisted that our people follow Covid-19 protocols, so that we can avoid loss of life.
"Our people are dying, and the infections are going [up].
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"Mindful of the fatigue, our people are tired of all these measures, but this is no time to get tired. We need to persist, so that we can save lives and, in the process, try and save livelihoods.
"It's a route we must travel because it is a global problem we are facing."
On Sunday, the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority said it would not release the J&J vaccine, which US authorities deemed unfit for use.
The body said there were at least 300 000 doses from batches, which the FDA had cleared and that met the requirements, and these would be released and shipped to South Africa.
Doses
South Africa could expect two million doses of the J&J vaccine within the next two weeks.
"We are steaming ahead in terms of rolling out our vaccination programme. Of course, mindful of the setbacks we have encountered. The AstraZeneca and J&J, we hope these are temporary setbacks. We are going to get out of this. We are trying to get other vaccines to speed up the process.
"We are also trying very hard to dispel the myth in our communities about vaccines. It is meant to save us. They are meant to save lives, so all those people who are saying all sorts of stories about vaccines are incorrect. It is about saving lives," he said.
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Asked about the slow pace of the country's vaccination rollout, Mabuza said vaccines are hard to come by.
"It is a challenge in the whole world. They are not readily available for the population of the world. We have reached certain contracts with two manufacturers. We have signed contracts with J&J and Pfizer.
"J&J is currently facing a hurdle in the USA, where the FDA is looking at the challenge. It is a regulator, and we cannot apply political pressure on the regulator because they are looking at the safety and efficacy of the medicine," he said.
The government, however, continues to receive and administer the Pfizer vaccine in a very "incremental way".
Mabuza said, although vaccination was proceeding, it was not at the pace the government had envisaged.
