Johnson and Johnson vaccine may be the way forward for SA
South Africa's suspended the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine to healthcare workers - but our Health Committee says it's not all doom and gloom.
Professor Glenda Gray says while the jab falls short of the country's hopes of providing adequate protection against the new virus variant - the Johnson and Johnson SARS-Cov-2 vaccine trial yielded some positive results.
Gray says studies into the single-dose regimen show efficacy against the new variant.
Over 44 000 people from South Africa, the US and Latin America took part in the trial. 15% of them were from our country.
Gray says it targeted the elderly and those with co-morbidities. "So, how soon can we use this vaccine in South Africa.
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"What are the next steps? We are in advanced discussions to further evaluate the single-shot COVID vaccine in South Africa in an accelerated fashion in the next few days."
She says sampled data show high efficacy against severe COVID-19, including this variant, especially in regard to hospitalisation and death.
"Over the next few days, we expect to announce a plan to expedite vaccinations using the investigational product in healthcare workers in South Africa."
