South Africa's Covid surge

As South Africa struggles to contain a second wave of Covid-19 infections which appears to be driven by a new and more infectious variant of the disease, the Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has announced government’s strategy to secure vaccines and roll them out to two thirds of South Africa’s population. He says the vaccine will be rolled out in a phased in approach with health workers first in line. Meanwhile scientists say the new variant carries a heavier viral load and appears to be more prevalent among the young.Preliminary data suggests the virus that is now dominating in the second wave is spreading faster than the first wave. South Africa exceeded the one million mark of covid 19 infections last week.To take the conversation further as we close off the month we talk to: • Dr Aslaan Dasoo Convenor of the Progressive Health Forum • Dr Angelique Coetzee is the chairperson of the South African Medical Association (SAMA) • Professor Anne Von Gottberg from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD)