South Africa said on Sunday it would suspend the launch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after initial studies showed “disappointing” results against COVID-19 variant B.1.351.
The country received 1 million doses of jab. He had planned to start using it to vaccinate front-line health workers in mid-February.
The study, which involved around 2,000 people, found that the vaccine provides “minimal protection” against mild to moderate COVID-19 cases. It has not yet been evaluated by colleagues.
Zweli Mkhize, South Africa’s health minister, says front-line health workers will receive jabs from other manufacturers in return.
“We have decided to put a temporary restraint on the launch of the vaccine (AstraZeneca). More needs to be done,” said South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.
Scientists will study whether or not the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective in preventing severe disease and death from the new variant, Mkhize said.
South Africa is still looking at the impetus for vaccination
The government will instead offer vaccines produced by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in the coming weeks.
This newer strain is more infectious and currently accounts for over 90% of COVID-19 cases in the country.
South Africa intends to vaccinate at least 67% of its population by the end of the year, or about 40 million people.
It recorded almost 1.5 million infections and over 46,000 deaths caused by the virus.
Developers promise modified jab by the fall
The developers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines say that they will have it ready by the end of this summer.
Sarah Gilbert, chief researcher of the Oxford team, told the BBC on Sunday that “we are working on a version with the top South African sequence”.
“It seems very likely that we can have a new version ready for use in the fall,” she added.
The early results for the AstraZeneca vaccine against the South African variant could have far-reaching implications in the fight against coronavirus on the continent.
Many African nations planned to use the AstraZeneca fire due to its accessibility and the fact that it can be stored in ordinary refrigerators.
COVAX, an international procurement initiative for poorer countries, bought the AstraZeneca vaccine in bulk from the Serum Institute in India.
jf / aw (AFP, AP)