According to the health ministry of South Africa South the African Union member states have purchased the Covid 19 vaccine AstraZeneca from South Africa as they had not used the full amount they had got for their country. This was because South Africa stopped its vaccination programme after finding out that the vaccine was less effective against the South African Variant known as 501Y.V2
The country had received 1 million doses of the vaccine from the Serum Institute of India and was waiting for another 500,000 doses. The Health Minister Zweli Mkhize confirmed in a statement that the sale of the AstraZeneca vaccine doses they had acquired had been concluded. The minister further said the first batch of vaccine doses shipped out of the country this week will benefit nine African Union member states and the balance to be shipped next week will benefit five other African countries.
South Africa, which started vaccinating its nearly 60 million people in mid-February, two weeks after halting use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, is now using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is said to be effective against the 501Y.V2 variant. The country has so far vaccinated more than 180,000 health care workers, according to the Health Ministry, and hopes to speed up its inoculation campaign as it acquires more doses.
South Africa has the highest number of infections on the continent with 1,537,852 cases and over 52,000 deaths. Over 1.4 million people in the country have recovered. President Cyril Ramaphosa affirmed Sunday that his government was working to ensure that novel coronavirus vaccines are available for all of the country’s residents. Vaccinations are currently being done in phases, with health workers getting the jabs first. The second phase will include essential workers, teachers, the elderly and those with comorbidities, Ramaphosa said
