Overview
- A 3.5 million-dose batch of Biogénesis Bagó FMD vaccine arrived on Sunday, boosting South Africa's total secured supply to about 13.5 million doses for the emergency campaign.
- A Gauteng High Court judge on 25 May granted an interim order letting farmers, feedlots and dairies lawfully procure and administer approved FMD vaccines, subject to written notification at least five days before vaccinating and a sworn affidavit within 14 days confirming compliance.
- Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has ordered provinces to accelerate mass vaccinations and the department will deploy Animal Health Technicians to expand frontline capacity while targeted provincial allocations, such as an extra 50,000 doses to the Northern Cape, are being distributed.
- Practical hurdles remain large because private import channels, SAHPRA clearance, cold-chain logistics, traceability and an agreed booster schedule must be operationalised quickly if a concentrated six-to-eight-week primary vaccination window is to stop transmission.
- The outbreak threatens rural incomes, food security and red-meat exports, and officials have backed a South Africa–Botswana 2026–2028 action plan for cross-border vaccination, fence maintenance and improved traceability to reduce reinfection risk.