Today is the court-ordered deadline for the national Health Department to provide access to its secret Covid-19 vaccine contracts, but activists who had prompted the motion have agreed to wait another month for the records of its meetings and correspondence.
The Health Justice Initiative had granted the department an extension for the documents relating to negotiation meeting outcomes, minutes and correspondence – but not for the documents relating to contracts, memoranda of understanding, and agreements, it said.
Originally, reports Business Day, in February 2022, the HJI had asked for the full record of its negotiations and contracts for Covid-19 vaccines under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia).
When the request was rejected, the HJI launched legal action, saying the state had a constitutional obligation to ensure procurement was transparent, and to provide the public with timely and accurate information.
In a ruling on 17 August, the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) gave the department 10 days to provide the records of the Covid-19 contracts signed with Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), the Serum Institute of India and international vaccine-sharing mechanism Covax. It was also ordered to hand over all details of its negotiations with other parties.
Yesterday, the HJI said the department’s legal representatives had asked for an extension until 29 September, so it had granted this for the documents relating to negotiation meeting outcomes, minutes and correspondence, but not for the documents relating to contracts, memoranda of understanding, and agreements.
“At this stage, HJI’s legal representatives have not received any applications for leave to appeal or an application seeking an extension of the 10-day period from the department of health. We believe that they will act in accordance with the dates outlined in the order and per our extension.”
The Health Department was not available to comment.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
HJI goes to court to access vaccine supply records
Application to compel public release of expert COVID advice and decisions
Health activists seek access to SA’s confidential vaccine supply agreements
Health campaigners want access to SA’s vaccine contract with J&J