B4SA WORKSTREAM UPDATES

Service Delivery Platforms and Vaccine Delivery Readiness

The workstream was informed that the 80 000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine arrived in the country on 16 February 2021, and Baragwanath Hospital, Steve Biko, Groote Schuur and Tygerberg hospitals are included in the identified research sites. Accredited researchers by the MRC will ensure the vaccination rollout for all identified healthcare workers (HCWs) at the sites. Training of vaccinators in the private sector is a priority, and we remain hopeful that the training will go ahead and that they will be able to participate in this initial roll-out.

This vaccine has been made available by J&J free of charge as part of the study. Private healthcare workers will be able to attend the sites for vaccination. The private sector’s roll-out is under discussion and will apply to the second tranche of 80 000 doses, expected in two weeks. This will either be at designated private hospitals accredited as vaccination sites – HCWs will travel to these hospitals for vaccination – or through teams of trained MRC approved vaccinators who will travel between hospitals and vaccinate HCWs at their place of work. These options will be discussed over the course of this week.

The workstream continues to recalibrate the issues and challenges impacting the rollout of the Phase 1(a), based on the limited number of doses coming into the country and the limited number of sites being identified for this initial HCW rollout. Several bilateral meetings have been held by the workstream’s leadership to align with the National Department of Health (NDoH) and the provinces on the recalibrated rollout plan for Phase 1(a). The prioritisation of Phase 1(a) must be amplified as part of this initial phase.

This current process will continue until such time that SAHPRA registers the vaccine, whereafter the J&J vaccine will be commercially available, and the original roll-out plan will kick in. Government and the SIU are also working to ensure both the safety and security of the vaccines and that all relevant checks and balances are in place to prevent any corruption associated with the 80 000 doses allocated to this initial roll-out, and any future rollouts of the vaccine over the ensuing months.

The workstream will tabulate all relevant issues for discussion with the MRC and which require urgent and immediate feedback from the NDoH and the MRC regarding the current, recalibrated rollout of the vaccine, for the private sector to support this initiative effectively.

As it relates to the areas of focus for Phase 1(b), the necessary finalisation of these areas is currently underway:

• Vaccination site registration process – looking at accreditation criteria for sites.
• Vaccinator registration – looking at reimbursement and contracting models for private facilities (pharmacies and GP practices).
• Vaccinator training – engaging all relevant GP associations to get their relevant vaccinators adequately trained before Phase 2 and 3 of the vaccination drive is launched. This is a focus on doctors and not nurses.
• Curator identification and registration – ensuring that the relevant curators are identified on each site to provide the necessary site compliance before NDoH approval can be granted.