Applications for vaccine approval in SA could start next week - SAHPRA

On Wednesday Britain became the first Western country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for general, with rollout expected next week.

Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have all said they're going to get it, but when are South Africans likely to be able to get the potentially life-saving Covid-19 vaccine approved for use by the U.K on Wednesday?

CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit poses the question to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority's Silverani Padayachee:

As the regulatory authority for South Africa, we haven't received any applications yet.

Silverani Padayachee,Senior Manager: Pharmaceutical Evaluation - South African Health Products Regulatory Authority

But Padayachee predicts it won't be long before the applicatins

We anticipate that Africans will be making submissions very shortly, as close to next week.

Silverani Padayachee,Senior Manager: Pharmaceutical Evaluation - South African Health Products Regulatory Authority

She says the evaluation process could take between one and three months and adds that while Sahpra would take into account the findings of regulatory bodies in other jurisdictions, it would also carry out its own review.

In terms of distribution within South Africa, this decision obviously lies with the National Department of Health.

Silverani Padayachee,Senior Manager: Pharmaceutical Evaluation - South African Health Products Regulatory Authority

On Wednesday, the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) gave the authorization for the Pfizer vaccine, with the possibility that mass injections could start as early as next week.

In related news, three former US presidents, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton have volunteered to get the Covid-19 vaccine live on public television.

RELATED: Barack Obama, George Bush, Bill Clinton to get Covid-19 vaccine live on TV

Click below to listen to the full podcast:

More from Covid-19 coronavirus explained