COVER STORY | A tale of vaccines and constraints on growth

The battered global economy is expected to begin its long journey to recovery from the impact of Covid-19 next year, provided that ambitious plans to roll out effective vaccines to billions of people stay on track, reducing the threat of renewed restrictions on activity and alleviating fears of infection.

It already looks like the anticipated bounce in 2021 will be weaker than initially envisaged, following second waves of infections – more severe than the first – which are sweeping across leading economies, like the US, Europe, the UK and Japan.

There are concerns that a second wave is imminent in SA, given a surge in infections in the Eastern and Western Cape at the time of going to print.