JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa will suspend the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 injection in its vaccination program after data showed that it provided 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 will wait for advice from scientists on how best to proceed, after disappointing results in a trial conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand.
The government planned to get the AstraZeneca shot to health professionals soon after receiving 1 million doses produced by the Serum Institute of India on Monday.
Instead, it will be offering vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in the coming weeks as experts consider how the AstraZeneca shot could be deployed.
“What does that mean for our vaccination program that we said will start in February? The answer is that it will continue, ”Mkhize told an online newsletter.
“Starting next week, for the next four weeks, we expect there will be J&J vaccines, there will be Pfizer vaccines. So what will be available to the health workers will be those vaccines. “
“The AstraZeneca vaccine will stay with us … until the scientists give us clear directions on what to do,” he added.
Reporting by Alexander Winning and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Alexander Smith