JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa will suspend the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccination program in its vaccination program, after data showed it offers minimal protection against mild to moderate infection caused by the country’s dominant coronavirus variant.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Sunday that the government would wait for the advice of scientists on the best course of action, after a study showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine did not significantly reduce the risk of mild or moderate COVID-19 in the 501Y variant. .V2 which caused a second wave of infections since the end of last year.
Prior to the widespread circulation of the more contagious variant, the vaccine was approximately 75% effective, the researchers said.
In a subsequent analysis based mainly on infections with the new variant, there was a 22% lower risk of developing mild to moderate COVID-19 compared to those given placebo. Although the researchers said that the figure was not statistically significant, due to the design of the studies, it is well below the reference level of at least 50% of the regulatory bodies established for vaccines to be considered effective against the virus.
The study did not assess whether the vaccine helped prevent severe COVID-19 because it involved mainly relatively young adults who are not considered to be at high risk for serious illness.
AstraZeneca said on Saturday that it believes its vaccine can protect against severe diseases and has already begun adapting it to the 501Y.V2 variant.
However, Professor Shabir Madhi, lead investigator of the AstraZeneca trial in South Africa, said the vaccine data was a reality check and that it was time to “recalibrate our expectations on COVID-19 vaccines”.
South Africa hopes to vaccinate 40 million people, or two-thirds of the population, to achieve a certain level of immunity to the herd, but has not yet delivered a single shot.
He had hoped to launch the AstraZeneca vaccine to health workers shortly after receiving 1 million doses produced by the Serum Institute of India (IBS) on Monday.
Instead, in the coming weeks it will provide vaccines for health care workers developed by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer / BioNTech.
“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. “
NEW APPROACH
Professor Salim Abdool Karim, an epidemiologist advising the government, said there must be a new approach to immunizations, given the uncertainty about the effectiveness of current vaccines against the 501Y.V2 variant.
First, a vaccine must be used in a target group to assess hospitalization rates, and then, if it proves effective in reducing hospitalizations, it could be presented in a wide range, he said.
If it has not been effective in reducing hospitalizations, people who have received it should be offered another effective vaccine, either a variant-based booster or another vaccine, Abdool Karim added.
South Africa is likely to experience a third wave of infections when winter begins in about four months, Madhi said.
He added that it would be “somewhat reckless” to drop the 1 million doses of AstraZeneca the country received when there was still a chance that they could protect against severe COVID-19.
Anban Pillay, deputy director general of the health ministry, said the expiration date for AstraZeneca doses was April, but the government was talking to SII to request an extension or exchange.
Madhi said South Africa might want to reformulate its target group for vaccination. “We need to really focus on preventing severe illness and death because it’s likely to come back soon.”
Reporting by Alexander Winning and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Edited by Alexander Smith and Bill Berkrot