Director of the Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC), John Nkengasong says countries who have not found the South African variant of the COVID-19 virus can use the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The South African government had put inoculation with AstraZeneca vaccine on hold following results of a small clinical trial which showed that the vaccine was not potent against the mild to moderate cases of the disease caused by the more dominant variant in the country.
South Africa already has 1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, with another 500,000 expected in the coming days.
Also Read: South Africa To Receive 1.5 Million Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine From India
Nigeria and Kenya, who haven’t been hard-hit by the South African variant 501Y.V2 have reiterated that they will inoculate their populace with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Nkengasong said countries that have found the South African variant should test other vaccines and settle for the most effective.
Nkengasong remarked that consideration should be given to the effectiveness of the vaccine against the 501Y.V2variant.
South Africa is expected to receive the me Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which has shown 89% potency against mild cases of coronavirus. The vaccines will be used to inoculate the frontline health workers in the country.
Africa currently has 3,703,913 cases with 96,732 deaths recorded so far. Many African countries are expected to receive vaccines through the COVAX facility of the WHO and the African Union.