South Africa will proceed with the planned coronavirus immunisation campaign using Johnson & Johnson vaccines instead of Oxford/AstraZeneca’s, which is deemed ineffective against the South African COVID-19 variant.
The country’s Health Minister, Zwelini Mkhize said on Wednesday.
On Monday, South Africa stopped the AstraZeneca vaccines rollout after a study published by the Wits Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit.
The unit said it showed that the vaccines offered minimal protection against mild-to-moderate forms of COVID-19 caused by the mutated coronavirus strain known as B.1.351, which was originally identified in South Africa in November.
“`It is as a result of this work, in which the government had directly invested that it was established that the AstraZeneca vaccines does not prevent mild to moderate disease of the 501Y.V2 variant. Given the outcomes of the efficacy studies, the Department of Health will continue with the planned phase 1 vaccination using the Johnson & Johnson vaccines instead of the AstraZeneca vaccines,” Mkhize said in a statement.
According to the country’s health authorities, the Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been proven effective against the 501Y.V2 variant.
The U.S-made vaccines will be used to inaugurate phase one of the mass vaccination campaign, in which South Africa’s 1.25 million health workers will be inoculated first.
In late January, Johnson & Johnson said its vaccine candidate was 66 percent effective in preventing moderate to severe cases of COVID-19.
The vaccine proved to be 85 percent effective in preventing severe disease and provided complete protection against hospitalisation and death 28 days after the shot.
Earlier, the company applied for the vaccine’s authorisation in the United States. (Sputnik)
