Coronavirus: South Africa halts AstraZeneca vaccination programme over variant data

[Klaralven]

South Africa will suspend use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 shot in its vaccination programme after data showed it gave minimal protection against mild to moderate infection caused by the country’s dominant coronavirus variant.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Sunday the government would await advice from scientists on how best to proceed, after disappointing results in a trial conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand.

The government had intended to roll the AstraZeneca shot out to health care workers soon, after receiving 1 million doses produced by the Serum Institute of India on Monday.

Instead, it will offer vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in the coming weeks while experts consider how the AstraZeneca shot can be deployed.

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3120924/coronavirus-south-africa-halts-astrazeneca-vaccination-programme

[abqtommy]

1. Thanks for this important news.