Johannesburg: The fight against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is gathering pace with the arrival of another batch of vaccines and the acceleration of provincial vaccinations. Some two million doses of the Dollvet vaccines arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen announced in a statement.
According to South African Government News Agency, the Agricultural Research Council has successfully bottled 20,000 vaccines on 12 June 2026, with plans underway to bottle an additional 20,000 by the end of June. This effort will boost local production to 40,000 vaccines for the month. Minister Steenhuisen emphasized the importance of maintaining a consistent supply of vaccines to effectively combat the disease.
The cumulative number of vaccinations has surpassed five million, with the Free State becoming the second province to reach the milestone of one million vaccinations. The distribution of vaccinations across provinces stands as follows: Eastern Cape with 891,924; Free State with 1,015,020; Gauteng with 351,945; KwaZulu-Natal with 1,163,193; Limpopo with 357,045; Mpumalanga with 531,096; North West with 753,522; Northern Cape with 114,071; and Western Cape with 309,044.
Minister Steenhuisen reiterated the importance of collaboration with provincial authorities to expedite the vaccination process and urged feedlots to efficiently utilize their vaccine allocations to sustain the economic value chain. He also mentioned that he has instructed his department to expedite the Section 9 Report to provide further assistance to farmers, with an expected submission to his office within the next few days.
The Minister expressed gratitude to all stakeholders for their cooperative efforts in mass vaccination campaigns. He stressed the collective goal of vaccinating as many cattle as possible in a short span to curb the current outbreak and prevent future major outbreaks of FMD in South Africa.