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By Rudolph nkgadima 
1 hour ago
CAPE TOWN – The AstraZeneca vaccine may not be effective against the Covid-19 variant found in South Africa, but its use in the country has not been completely ruled out.
According to the director general of the health department, Dr. Anban Pillay, there are a number of options available in terms of the use of the vaccine that the government will explore.
Some R 120 million was spent on the vaccines, while another 500 000 were expected to arrive by the end of this month. The country paid between $ 5.25 (approximately R77) per dose.
Getting the vaccine directly from AstraZeneca or the Serum Institute of India costs R44.50 ($ 3) per dose.
“In several European countries, the AstraZeneca vaccine is used in younger age groups, not in the 60+ age group. We may need to find an age group that is appropriate to receive the vaccine, ”said Pillay.
Seven days after a million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines arrived in the country from the Serum Institute of India, Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize announced a temporary suspension of the launch of the AstraZeneca brand vaccine.
This came after a study by Wits University and Oxford University showed that the vaccine had significantly reduced efficacy against the 501Y.V2 variant, which has become the dominant variant in South Africa since local scientists made it. identified in December.
The trial, which involved 2,026 people, half of whom were in the placebo group, has not been peer-reviewed and did not provide data on older people, who are more likely to die or need hospitalization.
Public health expert Dr. Kerrin Begg said the study results showed that the vaccine does not prevent mild disease in the young from the new variant, but they also do not have the answers on whether it prevents severe disease in the elderly and vulnerable. populations affected by the new variant.
“What we’ll probably see is combining it (AstraZeneca) with an additional reinforcement jab, which can protect against other variants. We could end up with a situation like the flu vaccine, in which we are combining different variants and strains, ”Begg said during an interview with SABC.
Although there have been thousands of individual changes that have emerged as the virus mutates in replication and evolves into new variants, scientists are more concerned about the variants found in Great Britain, South Africa, and Brazil, as they appear to be more contagious than others. .
While there are concerns about the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the V501Y.V2 strain, the UK Vaccines Minister said the public could have “confidence” in UK Covid vaccines, which “appear to work well” against dominant variants in the country.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “Our brilliant scientists and medical advisers are now working on the potential of new versions of existing vaccines to offer greater protection against Covid variants.”
Meanwhile, the Indaba Young Nurses Union (YNITU) said the government’s move to halt the deployment proves what they have been saying all along.
“The efficacy of the vaccine against the new strain of Covid-19 is unproven, and the government’s hasty approach has resulted in taxpayer money being spent on a vaccine that will expire in April.
“The hasty manner in which it was carried out can only create more problems,” said YNITU President Lerato Mthunzi.
In the coming months, South Africa expects to receive 12 million doses of vaccines from the international COVAX facility, 9 million from Johnson & Johnson vaccine when approved and approximately 20 million from the African Union vaccine procurement task force.
More vaccine purchases will be needed to meet the government’s target for inoculation.
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