[ 2021-02-10 ]

South Africa may swap or sell AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine
South Africa is considering swapping or selling
the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against
coronavirus, the health minister says.

Plans to use it to vaccinate health workers have
been put on hold after a small study suggested a
"minimal" effect against the country's new variant
in young people.

It is intending to use a vaccine from Johnson &
Johnson instead.

South Africa has one and half million doses of the
AstraZeneca jab.

Oxford jab offers less S Africa Covid
protection
How worrying are the new variants?
South Africa coronavirus variant: What's the
risk?

"There are already some countries that are asking
that we must sell it to them," South Africa's
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize told a news
conference on Wednesday.

"Our scientists will continue with further
deliberations on the AstraZeneca vaccine used in
South Africa and depending on their advice the
vaccine will be swapped before the expiry date."

He added that he was due to speak with the World
Health Organization shortly after the news
conference.
What was the study and what did it find?

The trial, which has not yet been published or
peer-reviewed, involved around 2,000 healthy,
young people with an average age of 31.

It found that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine
offered "minimal protection" against mild and
moderate cases of the South Africa variant of
coronavirus in that low-risk group.

This means that even in people who've been
vaccinated, the virus could still spread from
person to person.

But it did not look at the impact of the vaccine
on severe disease from Covid because there was
no-one in the study who was in a high-risk
category (over 50) or had an underlying health
condition.

Oxford University researchers say promising
results from other trials using similar vaccines
in South Africa suggest their shot should be
effective at preventing severe cases - the main
aim of all Covid vaccines.

The study was carried out by researchers at the
University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa
and the UK's Oxford University.
What do we know about the South Africa variant?

The South Africa variant carries a mutation that
appears to make it more contagious or easy to
spread.

However, there is no evidence that it causes more
serious illness for the vast majority of people
who become infected.

As with the original strain, the risk is highest
for people who are elderly or have significant
underlying health conditions.

Scientists say the variant accounts for 90% of new
Covid cases in South Africa.

At least 20 other countries including Austria,
Norway, Japan and the UK, have found cases of the
variant.

Source - BBC

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