Home Zweli Mkhize hints COVID-19 vaccines will be ‘available before 2021’

Zweli Mkhize hints COVID-19 vaccines will be ‘available before 2021’

The health minister really should be getting his bed rest, after registering a positive COVID-19 test over the weekend. However, Zweli Mkhize has shared an update with South Africans about all things virus-related on Monday morning, and it seems there are a few reasons to be cheerful. Which, we must admit, is a novelty in a pandemic.

Zweli Mkhize’s COVID-19 message

Mkhize addressed some of the major issues, ranging from the production of vaccines, to the threat of a second wave. On both fronts, it seems like there is a ray of light at the end of 2020’s dark tunnel.

There’s also a sense that South Africans may be faring better than other nationalities when it comes to producing antibody responses. Despite registering a large number of cases, deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Mzansi have been relatively low.

When will a COVID-19 vaccine be made available? Zweli Mkhize shares an optimistic forecast

According to the health minister, the process to register the first effective vaccines will begin as early as next month. Hinging on their potential success, the first batch of treatments could be dished out before the end of the year. Zweli Mkhize estimates that ‘millions of vaccines’, in a best-case scenario, would then be made available to the public:

“Around 20 vaccines globally are ready for further development, and three of them have been produced in South Africa. This must be a global effort, which makes any vaccine affordable and accessible, free of nationalist hoarding… The first vaccine could be registered by November, and it’s understood that millions of doses could be ready by the end of the year.”

“No-one is safe unless all of us are safe. No country can make a vaccine available to itself, because the disease will come back to them one way or another. It looks pretty promising, in the sense that when the first vaccines are made available, we are right there participating. We need about 20% of the population vaccinated to help create ‘herd immunity’.”

Zweli Mkhize

Will South Africa get a second wave of coroanvirus?

Mkhize also expressed some cautious optimism with regards to a potential second wave of COVID-19 infections. Although the minister accepts there’s a significant chance we could be hit by another surge, he argues that SA is well-prepared for it.

“How likely is a second wave? It is still possible. Many countries are at their second stage. The chances rely on how well our containment measures are working. However, there is no reason to believe we will be spared from a second wave.”

“We have a ‘surge response team’ on the ground that are able to detect when COVID-19 hot-spots surface. Should we get a second wave, we will fare better – we all understand more and we remain better prepared. Our coordination will be much better, as this disease is no longer a novelty. We have a WHO-approved plan on how to handle a resurgence.”

Zweli Mkhize

Antibodies and resistance ‘have played a huge part’

As previously mentioned, South Africa is still a ‘top ten’ country for infections, but its death rates are comparatively low. Zweli Mkhize has suggested that there is a high-level of antibody responses in certain communities, and that has played a key part in ensuring that COVID-19 cases didn’t surge during the transition to Level 1:

“Some studies have indicated that the total number of positive cases is fewer than the number of people who were exposed to COVID-19. We’ve seen that there has been a higher level of antibody responses in poorer communities.”

“The number of deaths have slowed down recently. The transition from Level 2 to Level 1 has not caused an ‘explosion of cases’. We are now 10th in the world for cases, down from 5th at our peak in August…”

Zweli Mkhize


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