After publication of a study with mixed results on the British vaccine, South Africa is reviewing its program.
The country announced on Sunday to temporarily suspend its vaccination campaign against Covid-19, which was due to start in the coming days with a million vaccines developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca.
This study, carried out by the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and not yet peer reviewed, claims that the British vaccine offers "limited protection against moderate forms of the disease caused by the South African variant, in young adults."
"This is a temporary problem, we must suspend AstraZeneca vaccines until we resolve these problems," Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said at an online press conference on Sunday.
22% efficiency on moderate forms
According to initial results, this vaccine is only 22% effective against moderate forms of the virus.
No results are yet available on its effectiveness against severe forms.
Lagging behind in the global vaccine race, South Africa, officially the continent's worst-hit country with more than 1.5 million cases and more than 46,000 deaths, received its first shipment of 'one million vaccines on Monday.
A delivery of 500,000 additional doses is expected in February.
All of these are AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccines produced by the Serum Institue of India.
These first doses were intended primarily for the 1.2 million health workers.
Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines on the way
"In the next four weeks, we will have Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines", wanted to reassure Zweli Mkhize.
Discussions with other laboratories are also underway, notably with Moderna and the Russian vaccine manufacturer Sputnik V, he added.
The South African minister recently announced that he had reserved 20 million Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines.
The 1.5 million Astrazeneca vaccines obtained by South Africa, which will expire in April, will be kept until scientists give clear indications on their use, he said.
Morning essentials newsletter
A tour of the news to start the day
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
"The second generation of vaccine to fight against all variants will take longer to produce", has already warned Prof. Salim Abdool Karim, epidemiologist and co-chair of the scientific committee at the South African Ministry of Health.
South Africa plans to vaccinate at least 67% of the population by the end of the year, or around 40 million people.
READ ALSO>
Switzerland, Belgium… these countries which remain cautious with the AstraZeneca vaccine
The AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine has been approved by several countries but some preferred to recommend it only for those under 65, due to insufficient data on older people.
