Slow and shambolic start to government’s vaccine rollout is more reason to decentralise control
17 May 2021
Today marks the start of South Africa’s official vaccine rollout. Although the ultimate aim is to reach herd immunity by vaccinating 40 million people, what matters right now is getting as many high-risk individuals as possible vaccinated before the third wave hits.
This crucial objective requires South Africans to pull together in a massive national effort. We need the public and private health sectors working together, with doctors, pharmacies, clinics and mass vaccination centres running at full speed. We need all high-risk individuals to come forward and get registered and vaccinated. Fortunately, around 70% of South Africans are keen to get vaccinated.
Unfortunately, we are at the mercy of a government determined to control the programme centrally yet incapable of delivering efficiently.
The rollout is off to a slow and shambolic start, with very little sense of urgency. As usual, the Ramaphosa administration is under-utilising the private sector, keeping the public in the dark, and setting targets it can’t meet.