JOHANESBURG - The Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics (VIDA) Research Unit at Wits University has been at the forefront of vaccine development for 30 years.
The importance of vaccines has never been clearer than when COVID-19 broke out in 2020.
The recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has made the continent realise how important it is for Africa to create its own vaccine-creating capabilities.
"The amount of expertise that was developed over the past 30 years in South Africa is phenomenal," said Wits Health Sciences Dean, Dr Shabir Madhi.
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That came through during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Even now, we see South African scientists being involved in the development of vaccines across a number of pathogens," said Madhi.
He said the Unit's focus is on the clinical development of these vaccines. A lot still needs to be done when it comes to the actual discovery and design of vaccines.
Becoming self-sufficient when it comes to vaccines, it does not mean producing all of our own vaccines, said Madhi.
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"We need to be strategic in the way we place ourselves," he said.
"We should be prepared in case there's another outbreak, another pandemic that we don't depend on international companies for vaccines," he said.
Madhi said certain progress has been made; there are green shoots. However, South Africa is still far away from developing a vaccine from scratch.
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"It requires huge investment from government and the private sector to join hands with the academic sector," he said. According to Madhi, it costs up to $1 billion. Such a partnership could see inroads to eventually development of vaccines on the African continent in South Africa.