The Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed an application for leave to appeal by Solidarity and Afriforum over a 2021 court case where they challenged a condition by South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine be restricted to the government. SAHPRA said that this was not a condition that they had imposed.
On 26 July 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed an application for leave to appeal filed by Solidarity and Afriforum (the Applicants) on the grounds that there is no reasonable prospect of success.
The Pretoria High Court struck Solidarity and AfriForum’s application from the court roll on the grounds of an alleged lack of urgency, and the court also ordered them to pay SAHPRA’s legal costs which was filed in June 2021 by the Applicants, wherein they alleged that when SAHPRA approved and registered the J&J vaccine, SAHPRA imposed a condition that the sale of the J&J vaccine is restricted to the National Government. The applicants argued that SAHPRA was not mandated to stipulate the condition that only the government may purchase the J&J vaccine and questioned the legality of such a condition.
SAHPRA refuted this claim because this is not a condition that SAHPRA had imposed. Subsequently, the applicants proceeded to lodge an application for leave to appeal with the SCA . SAHPRA CEO, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela said, “This court ruling indicates that SAHPRA is judicious in adhering to its mandate responsibly. We welcome the outcome of this judgement.”
