As President Cyril Ramaphosa flies home from his photo shoot with world leaders at the G7 summit in Cornwall in the UK, one would hope that, apart from exchanging pleasantries, he has also gained some tips or insight from his fellow summiteers on how to get on top of Covid-19. The US and UK especially, after some initial screw-ups, have been very successful in vaccinating their people. And we can learn from their experience.
Although the US now has had over 600,000 deaths, the highest in the world, most of these can be laid at the door of Donald Trump, who seemed interested in fanning the flames of the pandemic rather than dousing them.
Joe Biden hit the ground running. He's far ahead of the target he set when he took office in January - 52% of the US population has received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine and 140-million (about 42%) are fully vaccinated. Biden's goal is to have 70% of the population inoculated by July 4, Independence Day, a target many experts say is unlikely to be achieved. Biden's problem is not a lack of vaccines, but a reluctance among a significant section of the population to take the vaccine. Most, but not all, of the naysayers are Trump and Republican Party supporters. Some states have resorted to lucrative lotteries to encourage people to line up for the jab.
In the UK it was not so much a change of leadership but a change of heart by the leader that was the saving grace. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had initially been blasé until he was infected and landed in ICU. It was touch and go. He didn't so much see the stars as see the light.
He came out of hospital determined to defeat a scourge that almost felled him. Unfortunately by that time, as a result of his government's tardy response, thousands had succumbed. But Johnson's near-death experience seems to have galvanised his government into one of the better-performing countries in tackling the disease. Thus far 41-million Britons (61% of the population) have received the first dose; 29-million (43%) are fully vaccinated - quite an achievement.
With mission almost accomplished in their own countries, the US and UK have decided to give their surplus vaccines to the less fortunate. Biden has promised 500-million Pfizer vaccines to 100 poorer countries. The UK will give away 100-million to those in need. But that's still a drop in the ocean. The World Health Organisation estimates that 11-billion doses will be required by poor countries.
Because the pandemic continues to wreak havoc - we're now in our third wave - we need to keep asking: what have Ramaphosa and his government been doing?
While the US and UK offload their surpluses to those less fortunate, Canada is still on a buying spree. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said before this week that his country would receive an additional 7-million doses of the Moderna vaccine this month. It will also continue to receive more than 2-million doses of Pfizer's vaccine every week until the end of August.
Such figures not only make one green with envy but also sad. SA could easily have made such a headway had it had a half-competent government. There's no reason why we should be such laggards even when compared with other African countries. But Ramaphosa must have had a moment to shine. His push for a temporary waiver on Covid-19 vaccine patents seems to be bearing fruit. The US has bought into the idea, while the Europeans are still a bit reluctant. But I thought his call on black business to capitalise on the waiver was a bit tasteless. Urging people to profit from a pandemic is beyond the pale. The priority should be to save lives, not to make money.
Because the pandemic continues to wreak havoc - we're now in our third wave - we need to keep asking: what have Ramaphosa and his government been doing? What rock have they been hiding under? He's been harping on what he calls vaccine imperialism, meaning rich countries are hoarding most of the vaccines, a charge he no doubt repeated at the summit. It chimes with the colonial bogeyman.
It's true that the West has financial heft and was able to cut the best deals while our guys were dozing off or gazing at their navels. Is somebody seriously suggesting that had we had the foresight to place our orders on time, the drug manufacturers would have chased us away, or insisted that the West had preference?
The government's handling of the pandemic has been shambolic. That's a fact. After R500bn was ladled out to fight the pandemic, the campaign was not only botched, but we later discovered that the ANC and its cronies had stolen the money meant to save lives. That's what's so sickening. Instead of working to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, they saw the scourge as an opportunity to steal and stash the cash with breathtaking speed.
Even more disappointing is that a man who came into office on an anti-corruption ticket has had such malfeasance happening right under his nose, with some of his close associates involved. It was too bitter a pill to swallow. Ramaphosa said almost a year ago that he had created a so-called collaborative centre, bringing together nine state institutions to investigate all the corruption. He promised he'd be getting a report every six weeks. That was the last we heard of it.
The vaccination registration has been something of a disaster. Many people who have registered have had to wait an inordinately long time without any feedback, thus creating unnecessary anxiety. Compounding the confusion is that the rules seem to be inconsistent. While some centres have been turning away registered people - except those with appointments - others have been happy to register and vaccinate people on the spot. The result is people running helter-skelter all over town looking for any place that will vaccinate them.
The slow pace of vaccination will create two communities, those who are vaccinated and those who are not. A lot of people will also be infected - and die - needlessly. Incompetence can kill.
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