Febuary 8, 2021

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa will put on hold use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot in its vaccination programme, after data showed it gave minimal protection against mild-to-moderate infection caused by the country’s dominant coronavirus variant.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Sunday that the government would await advice from scientists on how best to proceed, after a trial showed the AstraZeneca vaccine did not significantly reduce the risk of mild or moderate COVID-19 from the 501Y.V2 variant that caused a second wave of infections starting late last year.

Prior to widespread circulation of the more contagious variant, the vaccine was showing efficacy of around 75%, researchers said.

Read more:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-safrica/south-africa-puts-astrazeneca-vaccinations-on-hold-over-variant-data-idUSKBN2A70PY