While anti-vaxxers are gaining momentum in South Africa getting your jab and creating some sort of herd immunity remains the only possible solution to finally defeating the coronavirus.
Dr Hanél Sadie-Van Gijsen from Stellenbosch University writes in the Sunday Times Daily that while there are currently 75 ongoing clinical trials in the US for Covid-19 treatment using the drug, ivermectin, which gained popularity in SA, the purpose of vaccinations is to ensure that the virus doesn’t continue to spread as it won’t be able to find a viable carrier due to herd immunity.
“Even if these trials demonstrate fantastic success of ivermectin, or any other drug, in the prevention and/or treatment of Covid-19, such drugs will not provide us with a way out of the pandemic.”
“Viruses need to infect new hosts all the time to keep going. However, every time a virus meets a dead end, in other words a potential new host that turns out to be immune to infection, its odds of having a future drop considerably.”
So please don’t fall for the misinformation spread in your family WhatsApp group and get in line for your jab.
While our morning newsletter focused on the potential cabinet reshuffle, News24 columnist Mandy Wiener writes waiting for President Ramaphosa to announce a new cabinet is “like watching paint dry”.
“It seems inevitable that it will happen at some point though because heavens knows we need a new coat of paint in this country.” (For subscribers)
And Xanet Scheepers writes in The Citizen that government should reconsider the Firearms Control Amendment Bill following the violence, looting and unrest that gripped parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in the wake of former president Jacob Zuma’s arrest.
Scheepers points at recent incidents where police stations were held up at gunpoint and robbed as well as the unrest where Saps failed to adequately protect communities from looters where private citizens and security stepped in to save themselves as examples of some reconsideration around the bill.
Here’s a roundup of the most interesting opinions and analyses:
Pegasus spyware saga reveals tech firms’ destabilising role in international politics – Ian Bremmer, Business Day
Mkhize scandal – The moral dyslexia facing the ANC and Ramaphosa – Tebogo Khaas, News24
The compact city died of Covid – Ivo Vegter, Daily Friend
Let’s count the curses of the 2021 Olympics so far… – Haji Mohamed Dawjee, EWN
Astounding mining profits are saving SA, helping to heal history – Helena Wasserman, Fin24 (For subscribers)
The true value of the mining sector in South Africa – Tim Cohen, Daily Maverick
Time to bring Africa in: The case for a G21 — with the African Union added – Jeffrey D. Sachs, Daily Maverick
The weight of being Tito Mboweni – Sam Mkokeli, Financial Mail
Only way to hold politicians to account is through the ballot box – Michael Morris, Business Day (For subscribers)
*Download the news aggregator app SAccess, available on Google Play and the App Store, to stay on top of business and market news from around the world.
