The South African authorities are impatient with a bulky stock of AstraZeneca vaccines – the effectiveness of which has been questioned against the local variant of the virus – which they would like to get rid of. After expressing the wish to sell them, the solution could come from the African Union. A week after postponing its vaccination campaign against Covid-19, the country will perhaps offer the million doses in its possession to the pan-African organization. “The doses that we have purchased have been offered to the African Union to be distributed to countries which have already expressed an interest in acquiring the stock,” Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize told Parliament on Tuesday. Thus, “there will be no wasted money,” he assured.
A million doses to share
South Africa was due to start immunizing its population of 59 million last week, with one million doses of the British AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). This first batch had been received in early February with great fanfare, in the presence of President Cyril Ramaphosa on the tarmac. An additional delivery of 500,000 doses was planned. The next engagements with AstraZeneca will be guided by “a science-led approach”, the minister only explained. A study from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, revealing a “limited” effectiveness of the British vaccine against the new South African variant, called 501Y.V2, had forced the government to suspend its vaccination campaign.
However, WHO experts have recommended the use of AstraZeneca vaccine in countries where variants are present.
The AU has secured the acquisition of around 270 million doses of vaccine for the continent and recently said it “will not rule out” AstraZeneca vaccines. Malawi has already declared that it is continuing to purchase these vaccines. South Africa is going through a second wave of coronavirus, largely caused by the new variant, known to be more contagious. Officially the most affected on the continent, the country has nearly 1.5 million cases of infection and more than 48,000 deaths. But the figure curves have recently been inflected, with new cases falling below 2,000 per day, against more than 20,000 at the end of December.
“Easier to administer”
Lagging behind in the vaccination race, South Africa is due this week to receive the first 80,000 doses of vaccine from the Johnson & Johnson laboratory, which will allow it to finally launch the first injections. This vaccine “does not need a high level of refrigeration, so it is easier to administer,” South African virologist Tulio de Oliveira, head of the team of researchers who discovered the South African variant. A total of 9 million doses have been ordered. These vaccines will be supplemented by 20 million doses from the American laboratory Pfizer. And South Africa will receive further prizes from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the AU. The government aims to vaccinate 67% of its population by the end of the year.
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