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The Economic Times of India reports that the South African government has approached the Serum Institute of India asking it to withdraw AstraZeneca’s 1 million vaccines.
Vice President David Mabuza and President Cyril Ramaphosa celebrate the arrival of the first million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at OR Tambo International Airport on February 1, 2021. Image: GCIS.
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa reportedly requested the Serum Institute of India to recall the 1 million AstraZeneca vaccines that arrived earlier this month.
The request stems from a small local study that found the vaccine provided minimal protection against mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients infected with the second variant of the virus.
READ: SA halts launch of AstraZeneca vaccine on efficacy against second variant
Just last week, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the government had been contacted by other countries that were interested in exchanging or buying South Africa’s jabs.
The Economic Times of India reports that the South African government has approached the Serum Institute of India asking it to withdraw AstraZeneca’s 1 million vaccines.
READ MORE: Effective J&J Vaccine Against COVID-19 Variant – Glenda Gray
Minister Mkhize met last week with the World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss the way forward after the findings of the small study were made public.
WHO has given the green light to the AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use.
The first batch of a million vials of vaccine are still in storage here in South Africa and it is not yet clear whether the Serum Institute will agree to take them off our hands.
Eyewitness news contacted the Health Department, but has not yet been available for comment or clarification.
WATCH: AstraZeneca SA vaccine launch on hold; J&J vaccine effective against variant
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