The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Health, Dr Sibongiseno Dhlomo, has welcomed the first shipment of one million doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII) that has arrived in the country today.

Dr Dhlomo said the arrival of the first consignment of the vaccine not only marks the start of the vaccine rollout programme, but it shows the government’s commitment towards fighting the pandemic so that protection across South Africans can be achieved.

Dr Dhlomo said through its oversight role the, committee will monitor the rollout vaccination programme as this is one of the govemnent’s biggest programmes it has undertaken because of the magnitude and number of people that need to be inoculated.