EFF vow to continue ‘mass action’ until everyone in SA gets COVID-19 vaccine jab
EFF members marched on SAHPRA's offices in Pretoria on Friday, to demand that the organisation speed up the approval of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and the Chinese manufactured Sinovac.
PRETORIA – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has vowed to continue with what they describe as rolling mass action until everyone in the country has been vaccinated.
Members marched to the offices of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) in Pretoria on Friday, to demand that the organisation speed up the approval of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and the Chinese manufactured Sinovac.
Scores of supporters marched through the streets of the capital, despite the worrying surge in COVID-19 numbers in Gauteng.
The party called on SAHPRA’s chairperson Helen Rees to resign in seven days or members would march to her house.
The call for Rees to resign is part of a long list of demands the EFF made to the regulatory body during a march to their headquarters in Tshwane.
Speaking to his throng of followers, party leader Julius Malema questioned why the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was given preference over the Russian Sputnik V and the Chinese Sinovac vaccines.
“What is it that is extremely wrong with Sputnik and Sinovac which is not found in J&J? Because J&J has been having problems, one after another. What is worse than AstraZeneca that came here with expired dates, that came here with 20% efficiency?”
READ: EFF urges SAHPRA not to bow to political pressure as it demands more vaccines
SAPHRA said there were still unanswered questions about these vaccines.
Russia began rolling out sputnik v long before proof of its efficacy was published.
While China has also been criticised for rolling out vaccines without sufficient transparency about its clinical trial data.
Experts argue this doesn’t disqualify these vaccines for use here, but it does show that both Russia and China may have an approach to medical ethics that doesn’t fly in South Africa.
WATCH: EFF vows to resist tougher COVID-19 rules as they demand more vaccines
