During Friday’s agriculture budget vote, Minister John Steenhuisen made several statements regarding vaccination timelines and targets that require further clarification.
In his speech, the Minister indicated that the government aims to reach an 80% vaccination mark by the end of the year, and also that boosters are required six months after administration of the first round of vaccine.
This raises important practical questions about how the government intends to achieve effective herd immunity within the required timeframe to eradicate the disease.
“If the goal is to vaccinate the country’s cattle once and then offer a booster after six months, then the first vaccination round cannot run until December,” said Andrew Morphew, spokesperson for FMD Response SA, a group of over 250 farmers and industry experts.
“The first animals were vaccinated in February meaning the first round would need to be completed by August, otherwise the animals vaccinated at the start of the process will require boosters before many other animals have received their first dose.”
FMD Response SA said the key issue is not the quality of the vaccines, but the speed, scale and synchronisation of the rollout.
A vaccine that offers immunity for six months does not give the government six months to vaccinate, as suggested. To stop transmission effectively, vaccination must be administered rapidly enough to create simultaneous immunity across the herd.
Without tightly managed, synchronised vaccination within windows of six to eight weeks, the virus is likely to persist in the environment and continue spreading between vaccinated and unvaccinated herds.
“We need a wall of vaccine to stop the virus spreading,” said Morphew. “The best way to control FMD is to ensure cattle have simultaneous immunity. This can only be achieved through vaccination at speed and scale. Waiting until December to vaccinate the country’s cattle will not achieve that objective.”
State’s failure to meet foot-and-mouth disease vaccination deadlines sparks farmer outrage
FMD Response SA said recent cases in KwaZulu-Natal, where dairy cattle from at least two farms that were vaccinated in March later contracted the virus, demonstrate the danger of isolated vaccination without broader herd immunity.
“These cases should not be interpreted as vaccine failure,” said Morphew. “They show the risk of rollout failure. Vaccinated animals remain vulnerable when they are surrounded by unvaccinated herds and when immunity is not achieved across an area at the same time.”
Countries such as Brazil and Argentina controlled FMD through tight cyclical vaccination windows of six to eight weeks by allowing private sector participation in the distribution and rapid administration of the vaccines.
South Africa needs to urgently adopt the same disciplined approach and should stop measuring progress only by the number of doses ordered, imported or held in storage.
“Doses in fridges do not stop FMD,” said Morphew. “Doses in cattle, administered fast enough to create synchronised immunity, do.”
“The Minister’s speech confirms the need for greater clarity,” said Morphew. “Doses imported are not herd immunity. Doses administered slowly over a year are not herd immunity. South Africa needs a structured vaccination campaign with strict start dates and end dates designed around the biology of FMD, not around administrative milestones.”
FMD Response SA said it remains ready to work constructively with the government, veterinarians, farmers, industry bodies and private sector distributors to support a vaccination campaign that can halt transmission and protect South Africa’s livestock sector.
