Minister debunks rumours, confirms free FMD vaccines

Minister of agriculture, John Steenhuisen, has confirmed that the South African government will cover the full cost of vaccinating the national herd against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

According to the department, there will be no cost to farmers for vaccines administered as part of the national response to the FMD outbreaks. Vaccines have been distributed to all provinces, and the vaccination programme is now well underway.

South Africa has already received one million vaccine doses from Biogénesis Bagó in Argentina and 1.5 million doses from Dollvet in Türkiye, with further consignments scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks to sustain the vaccination campaign.

Addressing the rumours

Steenhuisen expressed his appreciation to the veterinary professionals and industry partners assisting with the rollout. “We would like to thank the state and private veterinarians who are on the frontline of the vaccination campaign, as well as industry organisations, particularly the Milk Producers Organisation (MPO), for their cooperation and support in helping to protect South Africa’s livestock sector.

“FMD is everyone’s responsibility. It is critical that farmers and stakeholders verify information before sharing it. Misinformation during a biosecurity crisis can cause real damage to the sector,” he said.

Steenhuisen said rumours about the cost of the Dollvet vaccines being procured by the government were incorrect. This follows social media claims that the Dollvet vaccines only cost R45 per dose, implying that the government is “making a profit” from vaccines.

The minister stated that the claims focus on R45, which is the single quoted bulk supply price per dose, without recognising the broader logistical and operational requirements involved in a national vaccination programme of this scale.

“The price that has been circulated publicly relates to the supplier’s bulk delivery price to an approved cold-storage facility in South Africa. In other words, it reflects the cost of producing the vaccine and transporting it internationally under cold-chain conditions to a designated facility within the country.

“However, the R45 price does not represent the full cost of getting a vaccine from that point into the national veterinary system and ultimately to farms across South Africa, a reality that would be no different if, as claimed, ‘private companies’ were responsible for importing and distributing it,” he said.

How the procurement process works

Meanwhile, the department explained that once vaccines arrived in the country, they must still be received, quality-checked, stored under strict temperature control, managed through national inventory systems and distributed through a network of provincial depots and veterinary teams.

“This includes maintaining the cold chain, managing secure storage facilities, handling inventory management and coordinating distribution to vaccination teams operating across multiple provinces.

“Government’s procurement cost therefore reflects the full operational process required to move vaccines through the national veterinary distribution system, ensuring that doses are delivered safely and reliably to veterinarians administering the vaccination campaign.

“The vaccines are being procured and paid for by the state and administered free of charge to farmers. No farmer is paying for these vaccines, and government is certainly not selling them,” Steenhuisen said.

The minister emphasised that controlling FMD requires collective responsibility across the entire livestock industry.

“It is deeply unfortunate that, during a time of crisis, some individuals choose to spread disinformation and sow division. The only way we will defeat this disease is through cooperation, science-based decision-making and a united effort across the sector,” he said.