The South African government on Sunday suspended the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in its immunization program after a new study showed disappointing results against its new Covid variant, reported Al Jazeera.
According to scientists, the 501Y.V2 COVID-19 strain, which was identified in South Africa late last year, accounts for 90% of new Covid cases in the country. The trial was carried out by the University of the Witwatersrand and the results have been submitted for peer-review.
The study, which involved over 2,000 people, found the vaccine offered minimal protection against mild-to-moderate infection caused by the country’s dominant coronavirus variant.
During an online news conference on Sunday, South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said his government would wait for further advice by scientists on how best to effectively deploy the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in light of the findings.
“We have decided to put a temporary hold on the rollout of the (AstraZeneca) vaccine. More work needs to be done,” said the South African Health Minister.
He added that scientists will be studying whether or not the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective in preventing severe disease and death against the new variant.
Last week, South Africa received 1million doses of the AstraZeneca jab and was due to start vaccinating people next week.
Mkhize said the government will move forward with the deployment of vaccines produced by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in the coming weeks.
Notably, South Africa plans to vaccinate at least 67% of its population by the end of the year, or around 40 million people. The country has recorded nearly 1.5 million infections and more than 46,000 deaths from the virus.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Maria Van Kerkhove, World Health Organization’s technical lead for Covid-19, said the WHO’s independent vaccine panel will meet on Monday to discuss the AstraZeneca vaccine and what the new study means for vaccines going forward.
