The Republic of South Africa (RSA) has sold to the African Union (AU) countries previously purchased AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines. This was announced by the head of the country's Ministry of Health Zveli Mkize, RIA Novosti reports.
“The ministry has had to ensure in recent weeks that all member countries designated by the AU vaccine procurement team as vaccine recipients meet the requirements and have received all regulatory approvals, permits and licenses for the distribution of vaccines in their respective countries,” the statement said. It is noted that the first batch of vaccines will be distributed to nine states. For what exactly – has not yet been specified.
On February 8, WHO Director General Tedros Adanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern about the low effectiveness of the British drug AstraZeneca against the new strain of coronavirus. Because of this, the South African authorities have suspended the implementation of the vaccination plan. According to the Financial Times, an injection of the AstraZeneca vaccine probably does not provide protection for mild to moderate illness caused by the South African virus.
Since the beginning of December, it has become known about the emergence of new mutated strains of SARS-CoV-2 from the UK, South Africa and Brazil. These variants of the virus appear to spread more easily, and this could lead to an increase in cases, deaths and hospitalizations.
