JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa will suspend the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot 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 advice from scientists on the best way to proceed, following disappointing results in a trial conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand.
The government plans to launch the AstraZeneca shot to health workers soon after receiving 1 million doses manufactured 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 shot can be used.
‘What does this mean for our vaccination program, which we believe will start in February? The answer is that it will continue, “Mkhize said at an online news conference.
‘From next week onwards for the next four weeks we expect there to be J&J vaccines, and there will be Pfizer vaccines. So what will make the health workers available are the vaccines. ”
“The AstraZeneca vaccine will stay with us … until the scientists give us clear indications on what we should do,” he added.
Reporting by Alexander Winning and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Edited by Alexander Smith