Health Minister Zweli Makhaike confirmed that the full purchase amount was received by the Health Department on Monday of last week
South Africa’s Health Minister Zweli Makhisse has confirmed that the sale of one million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine received from the Serum Institute of India last month has ended.
Vaccines were sold to 14 African countries in South Africa after South Africa’s vaccination workers suspended planned use when it was found to have limited efficacy against a new version of the virus, the second of the pandemic during the country’s second wave. Was prominent during the wave. Of last year.
Instead, South Africa opted to use alternative vaccines to provide some level of immunity to thousands of health workers, but expressed concern over the slow rate of a planned three-phase vaccination program amid delays in vaccine delivery is.
“In the past weeks, the department has had to ensure that all member states identified by the African Union (AU) vaccine acquisition team as recipients of the vaccine are compliant and have all the regulatory approvals, permits and immunizations to get the vaccines out. Licensed. ” Their respective countries, ”Mr. Mkhize said in a statement released on Sunday.
Mr. Makhisay confirmed that the full purchase amount was received by the Health Department on Monday of last week. However, he did not disclose the amount.
“The AU and South African teams ensured that all logistic arrangements are in place for vaccine loading,” the minister said.
The AU had found that the benefits of using the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been suspended in more countries due to security fears, far outweighed the risks. The vaccine came in suspension after reports due to blood clots in some cases.
The first batch of vaccines were sent to nine AU member states on Sunday, while the remaining five would be collected by other countries later this week.
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