South African Medical Association (SAMA) says the rejection of the Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19 application will not have an impact on the country’s vaccination roll-out programme. It says South Africa has enough vaccines for its population.
South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has rejected the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine citing safety concerns.
SAMA chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee says this is the best decision. “It is in the best interest, especially our HIV people, especially men. The country has more than enough vaccines. We have enough Pfizer and we have enough Johnson and Johnson. SAHPRA’s role is to make sure that the data they receive from vaccine manufacturers are up to date. That they are safe. Sputnik is not safe at this stage. There is currently available data for South Africa.”
Coetzee speaks about SAHPRA’s concerns about the use of Sputnik V vaccine in SA:
Russia reports record daily COVID cases and deaths
Russia on Thursday reported a record 1 036 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours as well as 36 339 new infections, a surge that has seen some health restrictions reinstated.
Moscow’s mayor announced four months of stay-home restrictions for unvaccinated over-60s and the government approved a week-long workplace shutdown to cope with fast-rising cases that the Kremlin has blamed on a slow vaccination campaign. -Additional reporting by Reuters
