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Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, announced the suspension of the rollout of the Johnson and Johnson Covid19 vaccine, following concerns raised by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Mkhize said on Tuesday night that after he was made aware of this development, he held urgent consultations with their scientists who advised that the FDA decision could not be taken “lightly”.
The FDA decision followed reports that six females had developed unusual blood clots with low platelets. Mkhize said these incidents occurred between six and 13 days after vaccination in women between the ages of 18 and 48.
“It must be noted that over 6,6 million citizens have been inoculated with Johnson and Johnson vaccine in the U.S,” he said.
The Health Minister said there have been no reports of clots that have formed after vaccination, and this is after having inoculated 289 787 health care workers under the Sisonke Protocol.
However, he said based on the advice of the scientists, it was “determined to voluntarily suspend” the rollout until the causal relationship between the development of clots and the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is fully interrogated.
Mkhize said the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority will collate information from Johnson and Johnson, the FDA, and other regulatory bodies to make a thorough assessment of the situation and advise them.
“I humbly call for calm and patience as we ensure that we continue to be properly guided by science in ensuring the safety of our people as we roll out the vaccine campaign,” the Minister said.
He said he hoped that the deliberations would only take a few days.
Mkhize said given the preliminary literature on hand, the scientists were “confident that the FDA’s decision is on a precautionary basis and we expect that this will not result in the complete withdrawal of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine from the vaccination armament.”
He said however that the government had successfully negotiated for another 10 million doses from Pfizer, with just under two million of these expected to be delivered in May.
