JOHANNESBURG (AP) – South Africa is considering giving a COVID-19 vaccine that is still being tested to health workers, after suspending the release of another feature that the preliminary data provided can only be minimally effective against the form mutated in the virus that dominates the country.
The country was fighting Monday to introduce a new vaccination strategy after stopping the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is cheaper and easier to manage than some others, and which many hoped would be crucial to fighting the pandemic in developing countries. development. Possibilities include mixing the AstraZeneca vaccine with another or administering 100,000 health workers to Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, which has not yet been authorized for use anywhere, while monitoring its effectiveness against variant.
The abrupt change in strategy was brought about by the preliminary results of a small study that showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine was only minimally effective against mild to moderate cases of the disease caused by the variant.
There is reason to expect the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to improve in the country. Early results from an international vaccine test showed that it is 57% effective in South Africa in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19. This was lower than in other countries (the rate was 72% in the US, for example), probably due to the worrying variant. It was even more effective (85% internationally) in preventing the most severe symptoms.
“We can’t wait. We already have good local data, “said Dr. Glenda Gray, director of the South Africa Medical Research Council, which led the South African part of the global trial. She stressed that clinical trials show that the J&J vaccine is safe. Like AstraZeneca, it’s also easier to handle than Pfizer’s and Moderna’s super-frozen vaccines.
South Africa seems to be heeding his call. He said the country is making urgent plans to “deploy and evaluate it in the field.”
South Africa’s inoculation strategy is being monitored around the world because the variant first detected and now dominating here extends to more than 30 countries. Officials say this form of virus is more contagious and evidence appears that it may be more virulent; Recent studies have also shown that it can infect people who have survived the original form of the virus.
After a second wave, cases and deaths in South Africa have begun to decline recently, but it is still battling one of Africa’s most serious outbreaks, with more than 46,000 deaths. He worries that another rise will come in May or June, when the country in the southern hemisphere enters its winter.
“Our scientists need to come together and quickly find out what approach we will use,” Health Minister Zweli Mhkize said Sunday night, announcing the suspension of the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is currently the only available in South Africa. Other people are expected to be delivered soon, including one made by Pfizer and BioNTech.
The suspension disrupted South Africa’s vaccination plans just a week after the country received the first million doses of vaccine. According to an announcement from the University of the Witwatersrand, which conducted the test, it came after the first results of a small clinical trial that showed minimal protection against mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 in young adults.
The AstraZeneca study included 2,000 healthy volunteers with a mean age of 31 years. Scientists generally like to see more extensive studies before drawing conclusions, and experts say the vaccine can prevent serious illness, which would go a long way in curbing the pandemic and preventing hospitals. of overflowing patients.
“Vaccines that are effective against the most severe forms of disease may not affect milder forms, so there is optimism that vaccines will still prevent serious disease,” said Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College. London.
But the results were disappointing enough because South African officials decided to postpone the launch of the vaccine, which was supposed to be given to front-line health workers from mid-February.
The preliminary study has not been peer-reviewed (the gold standard for scientific studies), but it was still “a reality check,” said Professor Shabir Madhi, who conducted the trial. “We were euphoric. We need to recalibrate our expectations. “
Now, the country wants to change gears. You may end up giving at least one dose of AstraZeneca in hopes of protecting against serious illness and death from the variant. It is also being considered to combine the shot with one vaccine from another. Most vaccines analyzed require two doses; Johnson & Johnson is an exception.
An experimental study was launched in Britain last week to see if doctors could safely mix and match doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with the shot made by Pfizer.
An additional complication is that AstraZeneca doses in South Africa have an expiration date in April, making it difficult to administer two doses in such a short period of time.
Last week, Sarah Gilbert of Oxford University, who helped develop the AstraZeneca vaccine, said researchers were currently working to adjust the vaccine by inserting a genetic sequence of the new variant.
South African experts have been conducting clinical trials on the effects of the variant, known as B.1.351. This variant quickly became over 90% here.
The variant has reduced the level of protection offered by virtually all vaccines, but most vaccines show satisfactory effectiveness in protecting against serious cases and death caused by the version, Madhi said. Novavax vaccine trials, for example, showed diminished but still good protection against the variant, he said.
“Not everything is a curse … we have vaccines that work,” Madhi said.
However, he added: “This virus is likely to be with us for the rest of our lives. It is unlikely to be eradicated soon.
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Associated Press Medical Writers Maria Cheng in London and Lauran Neergaard in Alexandria, Virginia.
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