South Africa has stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine after data emerged showing that it provided minimal protection against the South African coronavirus variant, which is currently dominant in the country.
Reuters reports that Health Minister Zweli Mkhize made the announcement on Sunday after disappointing results from a trial conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
The outlet reports that the South African government planned to roll out doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday, but will now offer the vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.
“The AstraZeneca vaccine will stay with us … until the scientists give us clear directions on what to do,” Mkhize said.
The South African variant of the coronavirus is believed to be more contagious and data suggests that it is more resistant to existing vaccines than the earlier strain of the coronavirus. The vaccines made by AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna are believed to be effective against the UK variant.
The announcement comes a day after Sarah Gilbert, top vaccine researcher at the University of Oxford, said a modified version of the AstraZeneca vaccine that will be effective against the South African strain will likely be available in the fall.
“This year we expect to show that the new version of the vaccine will generate antibodies and recognize the new variant. And then it will be very much like working on flu vaccines, so people will be familiar with the idea that we have new components, new strains in the flu vaccine every year, ”Gilbert told the BBC Saturday.
According to Gilbert, the new modified version will take less time and less clinical testing than the original vaccine.