Health Minister Zweli Mkhize briefed members of Parliament’s health portfolio committee.

He assured them that everything was on track but that the process of purchasing vaccines was not always a smooth one.

The minister was quizzed about the timing, pricing and efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The first batch arrived in the country earlier this week amid much fanfare. 

Mkhize says when looking at the procurement of vaccines, it's important to look at safety, effectiveness, availability and then pricing. 

The minister said that if vaccines are available sooner, the second and third phase would be accelerated. 

He's urging people not to politicise the vaccine issue, saying it's inevitable that there will be challenges and all those will be dealt with. 

eNCA