[imagesource: Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images]

We aren’t yet out of the COVID-19 third wave here in South Africa, but we are past the peak.

During President Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on Sunday night, where you most likely switched off the moment he announced the alcohol sales ban was being lifted with immediate effect, it was made clear that certain provinces are still under the cosh.

The Garden Route has reported another spike in COVID-19 cases over the past seven days, and hospitals are struggling to cope with the surge.

On the whole, though, new infection and death statistics have dropped, with 5 683 new COVID-19 cases recorded in the 24 hours prior to last night’s figures being released, and 243 deaths.

It may seem premature to start talking about a fourth wave already, but according to BusinessTech, some health experts predict that could start emerging by late October.

That would mean a peak somewhere around – wait for it – Christmas.

Last year’s festive period was a bit of a write-off, so it really would be grand to be able to enjoy it this year:

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Professor Francois Venter, the director of Ezintsha at Wits health sciences, expressed similar sentiments. According to Venter, a fourth outbreak of the coronavirus could hit South Africa around November.

He said that future waves of Covid-19 in South Africa are highly dependent on the vaccine rollout – more than just the numbers, but also who is being vaccinated.

Venter said that the government must pay attention to how many older people are being vaccinated. “Vaccinating one 60-year-old is more important than vaccinating two 35-year-olds,” he said.

Perhaps that should serve as a reminder to everyone that we should be doing everything in our power to help our elderly get the jab.

The aim is to have 35 million South Africans vaccinated by Christmas, and the more older people counted among that number, the less strain is likely to be placed on healthcare services dealing with any wave of infection.

It doesn’t help that anti-vaxxers are as vocal as ever, spouting utter garbage that will only serve to further delay chances of returning to normalcy.

A fourth wave (and waves beyond that) is inevitable until vaccine coverage has reached a point where new infections and the risk of new mutations is severely reduced.

Vaccine herd immunity would require somewhere around 41 million South Africans, or 67% of the population, being vaccinated.

[source:businesstech]