ADVERTISEMENT
The Sun Nigeria
  • Home
  • National
  • Columns
    • Broken Tongues
    • Capital Matters
    • Diabetes Corner
    • Duro Onabule
    • Femi Adesina
    • Frank Talk
    • Funke Egbemode
    • Insights
    • Kalu Leadership Series
    • Kunle Solaja
    • Offside Musings
    • PressClips
    • Public Sphere
    • Ralph Egbu
    • Shola Oshunkeye
    • Sideview
    • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
    • Tola Adeniyi
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • The Sun TV
  • Sporting Sun
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • National
  • Columns
    • Broken Tongues
    • Capital Matters
    • Diabetes Corner
    • Duro Onabule
    • Femi Adesina
    • Frank Talk
    • Funke Egbemode
    • Insights
    • Kalu Leadership Series
    • Kunle Solaja
    • Offside Musings
    • PressClips
    • Public Sphere
    • Ralph Egbu
    • Shola Oshunkeye
    • Sideview
    • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
    • Tola Adeniyi
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • The Sun TV
  • Sporting Sun
No Result
View All Result
The Sun Nigeria
No Result
View All Result
Home National

South Africa suspends AstraZeneca vaccine drive

8th February 2021
in National
0
South Africa suspends AstraZeneca vaccine drive
0
SHARES
56
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

By ANDREW MELDRUM and SYLVIA HUI

South Africa received its first 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine last week and was expected to begin giving jabs to health care workers in mid-February. The disappointing early results indicate that an inoculation drive using the AstraZeneca vaccine may not be useful.
Preliminary data from a small study suggested that the AstraZeneca vaccine offers only “minimal protection against mild-moderate disease” caused by the variant in South Africa. The variant appears more infectious and is driving a deadly resurgence of the disease in the country, currently accounting for more than 90% of the COVID-19 cases, health minister Zweli Mkhize said Sunday night.
“The AstraZeneca vaccine appeared effective against the original strain, but not against the variant,” Mkhize said. “We have decided to put a temporary hold on the rollout of the vaccine … more work needs to be done.”
The study, which hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed, involved 2,000 people, most of whom were young and healthy. The volunteers’ average age was 31.
“Protection against moderate-severe disease, hospitalization or death could not be assessed in this study as the target population were at such low risk,” said a statement issued by Oxford University and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Scientists will be studying whether or not the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective in preventing severe disease and death against the variant, Mkhize said.
Other vaccines have shown reduced efficacy against the variant, but have provided good protection from serious disease and death.
Public health officials are concerned about the South Africa variant because it contains a mutation of the virus’ characteristic spike protein, which is targeted by existing vaccines. South African officials say the variant is more contagious and evidence is emerging that it may be more virulent.
South Africa will urgently roll out other vaccines to inoculate as many as possible in the coming months, Mkhize said. Other South African scientists on Sunday said the clinical trials for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine show good results against the variant.
The early results for the AstraZeneca vaccine against the variant could have far-reaching implications as many other countries in Africa and beyond have been planning to use the AstraZeneca shot. The international COVAX initiative has bought the AstraZeneca vaccine in bulk from the Serum Institute of India.
Developers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine expect to have a modified jab to cope with the South Africa coronavirus variant by autumn, the vaccine’s lead researcher said Sunday.
Sarah Gilbert, lead researcher for the Oxford team, told the BBC on Sunday that “we have a version with the South African spike sequence in the works.”
“It looks very likely that we can have a new version ready to use in the autumn,” she added.
Authorities in England last week went house-to-house to administer COVID-19 testing in eight areas where the South Africa variant is believed to be spreading, after a handful of cases were found in people who had no contact with the country or anyone who traveled there.
More than 100 cases of the South African variant have been found in the U.K. The testing blitz is a bid to snuff out the variant before it spreads widely and undermines the U.K.’s vaccination rollout.
Britain has seen Europe’s deadliest corona virus outbreak, with over 112,000 confirmed deaths, but it has embarked on a speedier vaccination plan than the neighboring European Union. So far, the U.K. has given a first coronavirus vaccine jab to about 11.5 million people.

Sylvia Hui reported from London.

Tags: AstraZeneca vaccinecoronaviruscovid-19south africa
Philip Nwosu

Philip Nwosu

Related Posts

National

SSANU, NASU suspend 3-week-old nationwide strike

26th February 2021
Buhari locks down Lagos, Abuja, Ogun as coronavirus spreads
Cover

Buhari gives bandits red card, rules out amnesty

26th February 2021
15 feared killed in Edo cult war
National

Cultists in shooting spree, kill 2, injure 5 in Balyesa

26th February 2021
Next Post
FUOYE

Alleged corruption: Group kicks against swearing in of new University VC

Cross River: Workers at Odukpani Power plant to down tools over non-payment of salaries, deduction

Cross River: Workers at Odukpani Power plant to down tools over non-payment of salaries, deduction

Buhari re-appoints Adeyemi, Adeleye Special Assistants

Buhari writes Jinping, says Nigeria-China 50 years relations satisfactory

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Highlights

Buhari gives bandits red card, rules out amnesty

Coach Izilien demands N10.9m unpaid bonuses from NFF

Hennessy becomes NBA’s first global spirits partner

Liverpool goalkeeper’s dad drowns in Brazil

Okoro elected Captain of Ikoyi Club Golf Section

FC ROBO Queens attack: Falconets coach tasks Sanwo-Olu on the team

Trending

National

SSANU, NASU suspend 3-week-old nationwide strike

26th February 2021
0

By Gabriel Dike The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU)...

3 die, 18 injured as suicide bomber strikes Maiduguri

BREAKING! Gunmen attack police station in Imo, police woman wounded

26th February 2021
Barbara Bush

BREAKING! Gunmen kidnap female students in Zamfara

26th February 2021
Buhari locks down Lagos, Abuja, Ogun as coronavirus spreads

Buhari gives bandits red card, rules out amnesty

26th February 2021
Coach Izilien demands N10.9m unpaid bonuses from NFF

Coach Izilien demands N10.9m unpaid bonuses from NFF

26th February 2021

Follow us on social media:

Categories

  • Abuja Metro
  • Arts
  • Broken Tongues
  • Business
  • Business Week
  • Cartoons
  • Citizen Joe
  • Columns
  • Cover
  • Culture
  • Duro Onabule
  • Editorial
  • Education Review
  • Effect
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Events
  • Features
  • Femi Adesina
  • Food & Drinks
  • Frank Talk
  • Funke Egbemode
  • Gallery
  • Global Square by Kenneth Okonkwo
  • Health
  • Insights
  • Kalu Leadership Series
  • Kunle Solaja
  • Kunle Solaja
  • Letters
  • Lifeline
  • Lifestyle
  • Literary Review
  • Marketing Matters
  • Muiz Banire
  • National
  • News
  • Offside Musings
  • Opinion
  • oriental news
  • Politics
  • Press Release
  • PressClips
  • Public Sphere
  • Ralph Egbu
  • Shola Oshunkeye
  • Sideview
  • South-west Magazine
  • Sponsored Post
  • Sporting Sun
  • Sports
  • Sun Girl
  • Tea Time
  • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
  • The Sun Awards Live
  • The Sun TV
  • Thoughts & Talks
  • Time Out
  • Today's cover
  • Tola Adeniyi
  • Travel
  • Travel & Tourism
  • Trending
  • TSWeekend
  • Turf Game
  • Uncategorized
  • Updates
  • Views from Abroad
  • Voices
  • World
  • World News
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Paper Ad Rate
  • Online Ad Rate
  • The Team
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© 2019 The Sun Nigeria - Managed by Netsera.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • National
  • Columns
    • Broken Tongues
    • Capital Matters
    • Diabetes Corner
    • Duro Onabule
    • Femi Adesina
    • Frank Talk
    • Funke Egbemode
    • Insights
    • Kalu Leadership Series
    • Kunle Solaja
    • Offside Musings
    • PressClips
    • Public Sphere
    • Ralph Egbu
    • Shola Oshunkeye
    • Sideview
    • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
    • Tola Adeniyi
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • The Sun TV
  • Sporting Sun

© 2019 The Sun Nigeria - Managed by Netsera.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist