South Africa on Sunday said it would suspend the launch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after initial tests showed “disappointing” results against COVID-19 variant B.1.351.
The country has received 1 million doses of the sting. He planned to start using it to vaccinate front-line health workers from mid-February.
The study, which involved about 2,000 people, found that the vaccine offered “minimal protection” against mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. It has not yet been reviewed in pairs.
Zweli Mkhize, South Africa’s health minister, says top health workers will receive washes produced by other manufacturers.
“We have decided to temporarily suspend the deployment of the vaccine (AstraZeneca). More work needs to be done,” said South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.
Scientists will study whether or not the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective in preventing serious illness and death from the new variant, Mkhize said.
South Africa is still contemplating vaccination
Instead, the government will offer vaccines produced by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in the coming weeks.
This newer strain is more infectious and currently accounts for more than 90% of COVID-19 cases in the country.
South Africa plans to vaccinate at least 67% of its population by the end of the year, or about 40 million people.
It has recorded nearly 1.5 million infections and more than 46,000 deaths from the virus.
The developers promised to modify the jab in the fall
The developers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine say they will have a modified jab ready by the end of this summer.
Sarah Gilbert, principal investigator for the Oxford team, told the BBC on Sunday that “we have an up-and-coming version with the South African peak sequence”.
“It looks very likely that we will have a new version ready for use in the fall,” he added.
The first results of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the South African variant could have far-reaching implications in the fight against coronavirus on the continent.
Many African nations had been planning to use the AstraZeneca feature because of its affordability and the fact that it can be stored in normal refrigerators.
COVAX, an international procurement initiative for the poorest countries, has purchased the AstraZeneca vaccine in bulk from the Serum Institute of India.
jf / aw (AFP, AP)