The resignation of Professor Salim Abdool Karim as co-chair of the Covid-19 ministerial advisory committee (MAC) on Covid-19 ahead of the much-feared third wave has been met with surprise. Picture: Motshwari Mofokeng/African News Agency (ANA)
Sihle Mavuso, Viasen Soobramoney, Nicola Daniels and Rapula Moatshe
Cape Town - The resignation of Professor Salim Abdool Karim as co-chair of the Covid-19 ministerial advisory committee (MAC) on Covid-19 ahead of the much-feared third wave has been met with surprise, with the health sector lauding his dedication and leadership in the global fight against the pandemic.
Abdool Karim ’s resignation from the committee tasked with advising Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize and the Cabinet on how to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country, became public knowledge on Thursday.
He has been co-chairing the committee for a year and provided leadership when the country first went into a hard lockdown in March last year.
The Health Ministry said Abdool Karim indicated his desire to leave the position during a meeting held last week Friday.
In the resignation letter he penned to Minister Mkhize on February 24, Abdool Karim expressed gratitude for having served initially as the chairperson of the ministerial advisory committee on Covid-19.
“When I accepted the appointment on March 23 (2020), little did I realise how important science would be in helping our country to navigate the complexities of the coronavirus pandemic,” he wrote.
He said it had been most rewarding to work with leading scientists from a range of disciplines and it was time for him “to return to my HIV research and my academic commitments”.
His last day with the ministerial advisory committee was on the eve of the virtual Cabinet meeting, where part of the agenda focused on the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out programme.
The ministry lauded Abdool Karim for responding to the national call of duty when his country needed his service the most.
“Professor Abdool Karim has presided over a ministerial advisory committee that has positioned South Africa as one of the leading nations in the emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He has become a trusted figure for so many South Africans, who have grown accustomed to his singular ability of explaining complex scientific concepts in simple terms that all of us can understand,” the ministry said in a statement.
The chairperson of Parliament’s portfolio committee on health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, said he was initially shocked by the news of Abdool Karim's resignation.
“Professor Abdool Karim has clarified that he had been with the MAC for about a year and there was a need to get back to the very important work he is doing regarding HIV,” said Dhlomo.
He added that he was pleased to learn that Abdool Karim was not disillusioned with the MAC but rather he was confident that he had left the MAC in a stable condition which would allow him to get back to his other work.
Alfred Thutloa, head of corporate communications at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), said they wished Abdool Karim well with his future endeavours and finding biomedical interventions for HIV.
Dr Angelique Coetzee, who serves as the chairperson of the South African Medical Association (Sama), saluted Abdool Karim for his work.
“I had a chat with Professor Karim and I understand why he is doing this. It has been a very hard year since he took over as chairperson of MAC. He did sterling work but his passion and great love is doing research and he feels that the past year took a lot of his time away from his great love.
“We acknowledge the insights that he brought. He did a great job during a very difficult time. We wish him all the best going forward,” added Coetzee.
Meanwhile, health officials at the latest provincial digicon said yesterday that communities which had higher Covid-19 cases in the second wave could have a measure of protection against a significant impact in the third wave.
Provincial Head of health Dr Keith Cloete shared feedback on a seroprevalence study conducted in the province.
“Seroprevalence in February ranged from 33% on the West Coast to 47% in Cape Town metro. The metro public sector seroprevalence was higher in people with HIV with 60% antibodies versus diabetics with 47%. In diabetics seroprevalence increased by 20% in the second wave in all subdistricts, even subdistricts that had less than 40% seroprevalence at the end of the first wave.”
However, he said there was lower seroprevalence in children in the public sector at 36% and the lowest seroprevalence among diabetics in the private sector at 26%.
“The question we were always posed in the second wave was why there were lower cases in Khayelitsha compared to the first wave. We found in October from the diabetic samples we did that there was 50% exposure to the virus. So we have found there is a correlation between the level of antibodies and the size of that wave,” said Cloete.
“High sero-prevalence may provide a measure of protection against a significant impact in the third, but we should still plan for appropriate mitigation. Low sero-prevalence indicates a risk of potentially a more severe impact in the third wave.”
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