Africa’s hardest-hit nation was due to start its campaign in the coming days
South Africa has suspended the start of its AstraZeneca inoculation program over concerns the shot does not work on a new variant.
WHO experts are due to meet on Monday to discuss the vaccine already facing questions about its efficacy for citizens who are over 65 years old.
A trial showed the vaccine provides only “minimal” protection against mild to moderate Covid-19 caused by the variant first detected in South Africa, a setback to the global fight against the pandemic as many poorer nations are relying on the logistical advantages offered by the AstraZeneca shot.
South Africa which happens to be Africa’s hardest-hit nation was due to start its campaign in the coming days with a million AstraZeneca doses but the government decided to hold off in light of the results from the trial conducted by the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize told reporters on Sunday, “It’s a temporary issue that we have to hold on AstraZeneca until we figure out these issues”.
“We do believe our vaccine will still protect against severe disease.” AstraZeneca, which developed the shot with the University of Oxford, told AFP.
A company spokesperson said researchers were already working to update the vaccine to deal with the South African variant, which has been spreading rapidly around the world.
Out of the initial 337.2 million Covax doses, 240 million are AstraZeneca shots, which do not require the supercold storage needed for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
There were already concerns about the efficacy of the AstraZeneca shot among over-65s, with a number of European nations not authorizing it yet for that demographic.
