LETTER: Experience shows many of our vaccine doses will be damaged or go off from heat

The newly arrived consignment of AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine is loaded into a truck to be transported to the Biovac Institute’s storage facility. Picture: Jairus Mmutle/GCIS

The newly arrived consignment of AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine is loaded into a truck to be transported to the Biovac Institute’s storage facility. Picture: Jairus Mmutle/GCIS

Published Feb 3, 2021

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It is good to hear that at least some of the vaccines will be arriving – no matter how small.

My real issue is that the “devil is in the detail”. We will need to distribute the doses effectively and safely. We will also need to have trained staff to administer the doses, and over and above this, records must be kept as to who has received the first jab.

Our experience has shown that South African administrators are not up to scratch and in fact quite frankly useless. We merely need to see how the Unemployment Insurance Fund was able to bungle the distribution of payments over a period of 10 months. Despite the fact that the UIF had all the records and information, they couldn’t co-ordinate proper distribution of the monies.

I am willing to venture a statement: “Many of the doses will be damaged, others will go off from heat and a very large chunk will be stolen. Is there anyone out there who doubts me?”

* Michael Bagraim, Cape Town.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.

Cape Argus

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