By Hannatu Sadiq
Zimbabwe has approved the U.S. Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use.
Zimbabwe’s Drug Control Authority said in a letter to the government cited by journalists that the vaccine meets its quality, safety and efficacy requirements.
It is the first vaccine produced by a Western country to be licensed in the country. Prior to this approval, only vaccines from China, India and Russia have been approved so far in the southern African country.
Recall that the vaccine was alleged to contain fetal DNA, but this was quickly refuted by the representative for Johnson & Johnson, Jake Sargent who confirmed to Reuters via email that the vaccine does not contain “aborted fetal DNA”.
The U.S. government authorized Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Janssen COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 27, 2021, enabling millions more Americans to be vaccinated and setting the vaccine up for additional approvals around the world.
The Zimbabwean government had initially refused an African Union donation of three million doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine despite rising cases of infection and a shortage of vaccine.
They had cited problems with storage of the product and possible side effects. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine doses require the same temperature as the Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines.
