World Health Organisation (WHO) panel says the AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective and should be deployed widely, including in countries where a new variant of the coronavirus may reduce its efficacy.
This comes after South Africa halted its rollout of the drug due to a small scale study that found it had a far lower efficacy against mild and moderate diseases caused by the 501Y.V2 variant.
In interim recommendations on the shot, the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) said the vaccine should be given in two doses with an interval of 8 to 12 weeks, and should also be used in people aged 65 and older.
“The intention as we understand it from South Africa is to proceed with the use of the Astrsazeneca vaccine in the context of collecting in a very dedicated way and a well designed way collecting the kind of information that is needed in order to fill in some of the gaps in information around severe disease for this product with the variant that is circulating. We will be doing everything possible to support South Africa,” says WHO’s Dr. Katherine O’Brien.
WHO briefs media on the use of COVID-19 vaccine:
Earlier on Wednesday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced that the government will now be using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for its Phase One vaccination campaign after temporarily halting the rollout of 1,5 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot.
Mkhize said the single-dose Johnson & Johnson jab would improve the chances of success with the initial rollout of the program.
Third wave of COVID-19
He also told parliament that government is concerned about a third wave of COVID-19, while the country scrambles to roll out a nationwide vaccination program.
Mkhize says, “We have nothing to suggest that we can stop the third wave and we are concerned that it might actually be one of the challenges we’ll have to face going forward. So all we’re trying to do as much as possible to reduce the risk of our people getting infected with the third wave. In the meantime, we want to accelerate the vaccination, hoping that our people will be very strict on the issues of use of masks, distancing, handwashing, sanitising, so that it delays the next wave from engulfing us.”
