South African multibillion-dollar insurer Discovery Limited has made plans for at least 3 million members to receive a COVID-19 vaccination in mid-May. More than 13 million people need to be vaccinated during the second phase of the vaccination roll-out among vulnerable groups, essential workers and occupational health and safety workers.
According to Discovery CEO Adrian Gore, private sector companies will cooperate with the government to administer the vaccinations. The joint efforts will ensure that South Africa meets its target of achieving population immunity by 2022, Times Live reported.
In January, Bloomberg reported that insurers, businesses and the government were developing a program to enable the private sector to help fund COVID-19 vaccines for uninsured persons. Legislation was amended to allow companies to fund shots for those without medical insurance.
When news that the first tranche of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had reached South Africa in February, many were concerned that the government would fail to successfully roll out the vaccine in a country where over 1 million people have tested positive for the virus. Discovery emphasized the need at the time to assist the government in executing an effective vaccination campaign to ensure all its members were vaccinated quickly, Cape Talk reported.
Gore stated that individuals with certain risk factors are more susceptible to illness and death from COVID-19 and should receive priority vaccination. “If you’re going to have a centralized approach that rations the vaccine properly, you have a situation where young, healthy people who can pay can get it before others who are susceptible,” he said.
Gore is a South African businessman and the founder of Discovery Limited, a financial services group listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. With subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, United States, China, Singapore and Australia, the company is engaged in long- and short-term insurance, asset management, savings, investment and employee benefits through its various brands.
Forbes has estimated Gore’s net worth at $400 million.
