South African government is slowly rolling out its national COVID-19 vaccine programme with the goal of vaccinating about 40 350 000 South Africans – or 67 percent of the country’s population – by the end of 2021. Officially launched on 17 February this year, government had managed to procure 51 million vaccine doses from various suppliers by the beginning of April. More doses are expected to arrive in coming months. However, as South Africa’s vaccination rate currently sits at well under 1 percent, many are asking whether government’s goal is realistic and attainable.
SA’S VACCINE ROLLOUT VS THE WORLD
As of Friday 23 April 2021, a total of 292 623 vaccinations have been administered across the country – this amounts to a daily average of 4 502. While low, South Africa finds itself in a better position than most African countries as most nations have not yet even begun their vaccination programmes.
AFRICA
WORLD
In terms of the share of people that have received at least one vaccination dose, South Africa is also close to the bottom of the list at a mere 0.49% of the population having received their first jab.
Have any questions about the vaccine programme? The National Institute for Communicable Diseases has put together a useful article answering many top questions. You can also learn more about South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination programme on the Department of Health’s official coronavirus information portal.
Source: Our World In Data | NICD | Department of Health