Government ‘not making a profit’ from FMD vaccines
· Citizen
Claims that the government was making a profit from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines and that it doesn’t have the resources to fund the vaccination programme are false, says Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen.
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He confirmed the government would cover the full cost of vaccinating the national herd.
“This means there will be no cost to farmers for vaccines administered as part of the national response to the FMD outbreaks. Vaccines have been distributed to all provinces and the vaccination programme is now well underway,” Steenhuisen said.
Government confirms no profit from FMD vaccines
“Hundreds of thousands of animals are being vaccinated each week as the country works towards the target of vaccinating 80% of the national herd by December.”
Steenhuisen said South Africa has already received one million vaccine doses from Biogénesis Bagó in Argentina and 1.5 million doses from Dollvet in Türkiye, with further consignments scheduled to arrive during the coming weeks to sustain the vaccination campaign.
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Steenhuisen called on stakeholders to exercise caution regarding misinformation circulating on social media and other platforms.
“FMD is everyone’s responsibility. It is critical that farmers and stakeholders verify information before sharing it.
“Misinformation during a biosecurity crisis can cause real damage to the sector,” he added.
Misinformation
The recent rumours spread by a certain agriculture lobby group have attempted to misrepresent the cost of the Dollvet vaccines, Steenhuisen said.
“These claims focus on R45, which is the single quoted bulk supply price per dose, without recognising the broader logistical and operational requirements involved in a national vaccination programme of this scale.
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“Most agricultural organisations understand and appreciate this reality. The price that has been circulated publicly relates to the supplier’s bulk delivery price to an approved cold-storage facility in South Africa.
“In other words, it reflects the cost of producing the vaccine and transporting it internationally under cold-chain conditions to a designated facility within the country.
“The R45 price does not represent the full cost of getting a vaccine from that point into the national veterinary system and ultimately to farms across South Africa – a reality that would be no different if, as claimed, ‘private companies’ were responsible for importing and distributing it,” he said.
Procurement process
Once vaccines arrive in the country, they must still be received, quality-checked, stored under strict temperature control, managed through national inventory systems and distributed through a network of provincial depots and veterinary teams, Steenhuisen said.
The government’s procurement cost therefore reflects the full operational process.
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