TimesLIVE reports that SA has already used up its first batch of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Covid-19 vaccines, the health ministry indicated on Wednesday.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize reported that the number of health-care workers who had received their Covid-19 shots was 83,570 as of 6.30pm on Wednesday. "We are very encouraged that our first target of exhausting the first batch of 80,000 vaccines from Johnson & Johnson in two weeks has been achieved and exceeded. We have taken every opportunity to learn from this process and continue to refine the programme in preparation for rollout to the larger community in the subsequent phases," he said in a statement. The first batch of 80,000 vaccines arrived in SA in mid-February, with the second batch having arrived at the weekend. To date, 50,366 Covid-19 related fatalities have been confirmed across SA. Mkhize advised that 1,434,772 recoveries have been recorded, at a recovery rate of 94.6%.

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

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