Mkhize on Russia's 'successful' COVID-19 vaccine: "It's still early days"
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has lauded Russia's efforts following the "successful" completion of clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Mkhize warned that vaccine trials have to undergo multiple phases before they are given the green light.
On Monday, the official Twitter account for the Russian Embassy in South Africa tweeted that "the tests showed vaccine's full safety."
Clinical trials of Russian anti-#Covid_19 vaccine have been successfully completed in Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. The tests showed vaccine’s full safety. The volunteers are to be dismissed from hospital on 20 July pic.twitter.com/37rynkhle8
— Russia in RSA 🇷🇺 (@EmbassyofRussia) July 13, 2020
Addressing the media on Tuesday, at the Dr George Mukhari Hospital in Gauteng, Mkhize says its good news - but it's still early days.
"It's good news, yes, but it's work-in-progress," says Mkhize.
READ: Moderna COVID-19 vaccine enters final stage trial this month
"So in another year-and-a-half or two, we might probably find that there's a conclusion where these are vaccines are fully proven on the second phase of their trails - where we are now able to establish without any doubt that they can be produced in the millions of quantities so that they are now able to be used in the world.
"We must watch the space. It's still early days. Its good work that has been done in Russia, but we haven't come to a point where we can go to Russia and source a vaccine and use it for South Africans.
