[imagesource: health.economictimes.indiatimes / Wikipedia]

The concept of achieving herd immunity in South Africa through vaccinations is simple.

Putting in place an effective vaccine rollout strategy, and ensuring it is done in a timely manner, has thus far proven to be anything but.

The number we hear about most often is two-thirds of the population, or around 40 million, which has been broken down into three phases.

We are in phase 1, which targets healthcare workers, with phase 2 expected to start in May, targeting vulnerable groups, essential workers, and the occupational health and safety sector.

That’s in excess of 13 million people, before phase 3 kicks off in November, targeting the rest of the general population and aiming to vaccinate in excess of 22 million people by the end of February.

You’ll have to excuse me if I’m not overly confident in our government’s ability to do this as planned, and on time.

In fact, when you do the maths, the difficulty of the task ahead of us becomes clear.

The Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism, an independent media organisation focusing on health and social justice issues across Africa, has crunched the numbers in a way that is easy to understand.

It’s only just north of three minutes, so you should watch it in full, bearing in mind that we’re heading into a four-day weekend to avoid ending up a little dejected:

[source:bhekisisa]