Inside Covid-19: Pay-as-you go private medical care; Why SA is at back of Covid-19 vaccine queue - and what's next

A week ago, Bloomberg reported that SA was only likely to get Covid-19 vaccines rolled out in earnest by mid-2021 and even then only for a select few. That created an outcry from the medical fraternity. In this episode of Inside Covid-19, we speak to Professor Francois Venter, a professor of medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand, who has been pushing the government to share detailed plans for who will get vaccines. A former advisor on the government advisory panel, Professor Venter warns that the vaccine may not be administered en masse next year at all. We hear from one of the founders of the Great Barrington Declaration how we should manage Covid-19 until vaccines arrive. Dr Jay Battacharya spoke to BizNews in November, who is opposed to strict lockdown but is in favour of focused protection.He says lockdown is the single-biggest mistake in health policy in his life time but we should take protective measures - and this can include wearing masks, particularly if we are in vulnerable groups. And, we hear from Discovery Health Executive Associate Maria Makhabane-Leke about an innovation in the provision of private medical care. You will now be able to pay-as-you-go for GPs, with the offering set to be rolled out to dentists and specialists soon.