ICPA: 47 pharmacies with COVID vaccines and chronic meds looted

Vaccines and chronic medication haven’t been spared in the ongoing looting with scores of pharmacies destroyed in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

The Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA) said that close to 50 pharmacies had been completely looted, including thousands of vaccines.

She said that this would have a terrible impact on the supply of medication.

So desperate are pharmacies they have even written to President Cyril Ramaphosa calling for his intervention.

The Independent Community Pharmacy Association’s CEO Jackie Maimin said that the looting was not isolated and 47 of their member pharmacies have been completely looted, including corporate sites like Clicks and Dis-Chem.

“The looting of pharmacies, I would say, is not isolated. In fact, we have written to the president indicating that they appear to be targeted. There has been a number of corporate sites, including Clicks and Dis-Chem that have been targeted.”

Maimin said that fortunately not all their pharmacies kept COVID-19 vaccines in stock but other chronic medication was destroyed.

“It’s probably 1,000 or 2,000 doses. So it’s not a huge amount but I mean, every vaccine lost is a potential life.”

The looting of the pharmacies and suppliers comes as the local partner of Chinese manufacturer Sinovac is to supply South Africa with 10 million vaccine doses.

-EWN

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