South Africa's roll-out of the vaccine which arrived in the country almost a week ago has been put on hold.
The shock announcement was made during an urgent briefing on Sunday evening hosted by Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize and several other experts in the field of epidemiology.
The vaccine, which was going to be rolled out to health care workers in the country was due to start on Wednesday, however, it has since come to light that AstraZeneca offers limited protection against the new strain of Covid-19.
The so-called South African mutant or 501Y.V2, was first discovered in December 2020 and is said to be more contagious.
Minister Mkhize said that the vaccines which arrived in South Africa from the Serum Institute in India, have an expiry date in April.
He said this was only picked up when it arrived in the country.
Further tests on the vaccine were done to understand the effects of AstraZeneca in the South African context and a decision was made to put the roll-out on hold.
Mkhize said they will not send back the vaccines but will rather ask if it could be exchanged for newer stock.
Professor of Vaccinology at Wits University and the trial’s lead investigator Shabir Madhi says a 22% difference in efficacy is reason enough to be concerned and that its largely disappointing news.
Dr Mkhize says a team of scientists will give guidance as to the way forward and that the rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine, which had been scheduled to begin this week, has now been put on hold.
He said the vaccination will continue for healthcare workers with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine which has shown 57% efficacy against the 501Y.V2 variant.
The vaccine is still awaiting approval from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority.
