SA has spent R6bn so far on Covid-19 vaccines, health minister reveals

SA has spent about R6bn on Covid-19 vaccines, says health minister Joe Phaahla.
SA has spent about R6bn on Covid-19 vaccines, says health minister Joe Phaahla.
Image: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/ File photo

SA has spent R6bn on Covid-19 vaccines, health minister Joe Phaahla has revealed.

Non-disclosure agreements with vaccine manufacturers meant he could not disclose the price of each vaccine, Phaahla told EFF MP Floyd Shivambu in a written parliamentary answer.

But he said the 62.4-million doses of Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines procured so far had cost about R6bn. This suggests each dose has cost about R96.

A health department circular in May 2021 told private healthcare providers they would have to pay R308.48 per dose of the Pfizer vaccine and R286.96 per dose of the J&J vaccine.

By Friday, 31,406,387 vaccine doses had been administered since the mass rollout began on May 18.

Almost 23.7-million involve the two-dose Pfizer vaccine, with 7.7-million doses of the single-shot J&J making up the balance. The total includes just over a million booster shots.

The number of individuals who have had at least once vaccination topped 19-million on Friday. Almost 48% of the adult population has had a jab but only 29% of 18 to 34-year-olds is vaccinated.

Almost 69% of the 2,891 Covid-19 patients in hospital are unvaccinated, according to sacoronavirus.co.za.

TimesLIVE


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