JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa will suspend the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in its vaccination program after data showed it offers minimal protection against mild to moderate infection caused by the dominant coronavirus variant in the country.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Sunday that the government was waiting for the advice of scientists on how best to proceed, after disappointing results in a trial conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand.
The government had planned to launch AstraZeneca shot soon to health workers, after receiving one 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 blow can be implemented.
“What does this mean for our vaccination program, which we said would begin in February?” The answer is that it will continue, “Mkhize said in an online news briefing.
“From next week for the next four weeks we expect J&J vaccines, there will be Pfizer vaccines. So what will be available to health care workers will be those vaccines. ”
“The AstraZeneca vaccine will stay with us … until scientists give us clear directions on what to do,” he added.
Reporting by Alexander Winning and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Edited by Alexander Smith