The Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union has repeatedly warned against government’s rushed approach of procuring Covid-19 vaccines without sufficient information and a clear strategy.
Recent developments regarding the halt of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial in South Africa, is a reflection that the government has once against rushed to spend taxpayers’ monies without a proper assessment of the situation.
In February we saw a similar disaster unfolding when it was the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived to our shores from India only to find that its efficacy against the prevalent strain of the virus in SA was low, added to that the doses were about to expire. Prior to this, YNITU had released statements in January questioning the haste and lack of proper planning with regards to the Minister’s proposed rollout.
We are now finding ourselves in another predicament as a country whereby the J&J vaccine was suspended following reports of that the Food and Drug Administration of the United States of America halted their rollout after 6 women developed unusual blood clots.
We are not against vaccines as a measure of containing diseases and protecting our people. However, we are against the senseless rush to run trials on our people without knowing how their health would be impacted.
“In fact, it is not even a vaccine rollout plan yet. People are being fooled into thinking they are getting a vaccine where else this is still at trial stage. During the trial stage of any pharmaceutical product, anything can go wrong, and this is vindicating us,” says YNITU President Lerato Mthunzi.
In February YNITU President Lerato Mthunzi also wrote an open letter to South African President Cyril Ramaphaso, making a plea for sense to prevail. In the letter Mthunzi reminded the president that South Africa has a better chance at surviving the pandemic if more is done to capacitate facilities.
A vaccine, especially one that is still on trial is not a magic pill that will resolve our problems.
Workers are still struggling to get basic things such as PPEs that will help them protect themselves and alleviate the spread of the virus within our hospital wards. As a country we should be working hard to get the basics right, while applying caution with regards to how we procure vaccines.
Despite our unpopular views, YNITU has never backed down from asking questions as we care for the wellbeing of our members and South Africans at large. We are in support of vaccination as a preventative measure against disease, but only when it is carried out safely.
