TimesLIVE reports that according to Johnson & Johnson (J&J) co-principal investigator Prof Linda-Bekker, scientists have about 500,000 doses of the J&J Covid-19 vaccine ready to offer health-care workers countrywide in an “implementation study.  

They are planning to start distribution of the vaccine in a week.  The J&J vaccine has proven to be the most effective against the dominant variant in SA to date.  A single shot reduces the risk of mild and moderate disease by 57%, and of severe disease and death by 80%, according to recent study results.  The results of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine study in SA, released at the weekend, showed that it was not effective against mild and moderate disease caused by the dominant variant in SA.  As a result, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has asked scientists to deliberate on how to effectively deploy the million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine which arrived in SA last week.  He paused the rollout of this vaccine to health workers this month, for the scientists to give a clear indication of the way forward.  Meanwhile, Mkhize indicated that the Pfizer vaccine and the J&J vaccine were expected to be available to health workers soon.  The J&J vaccine was safe, and health workers were not being used as guinea pigs in the expansion of its study, said J&J co-principal investigator, Prof Glenda Gray.  J&J applied for “emergency use of the vaccine” in SA last week.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Claire Keeton at TimesLIVE

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