More than a third of all Covid-19 cases in Africa have been in South Africa and numbers are surging with the emergence of a new variant of the virus.
But unlike some other badly hit countries in the world, South Africa is yet to start its vaccination programme.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently accused wealthy nations of "hoarding" vaccine supplies.
Has South Africa got Covid vaccines?
South Africa has so far secured twenty million doses, due to be delivered in the first half of 2021, according to President Ramaphosa.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has said that he expects the first batch to arrive by the end of January, with the vaccination programme beginning in February.
South Africa has been seeking to source vaccines in three ways:
-via the World Health Organization-backed Covax scheme
-via arrangements made by the African Union
-through bilateral contracts with vaccine manufacturers
Covax is a global initiative in which countries pool their resources to support the development of vaccines with a view to ensure that all countries receive a fair supply of effective vaccines.
South Africa expects to acquire doses for around 10% of the population through Covax and has been told it will receive them from April through to June.
The African Union established the African vaccine acquisition task team last year to source vaccine doses for the continent.
But it appears the vaccines won't be available for several months.
<<Print>>