South Africa expects the flight carrying its first 1 million coronavirus vaccine doses to arrive on February 1, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Wednesday, boosting efforts to curb a second wave of COVID-19 driven by a more contagious variant.
The AstraZeneca shots, produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), are destined for sorely stretched healthcare workers.
South Africa has recorded the most coronavirus infections and deaths on the African continent, at more than 1.4 million cases and over 41,000 deaths to date. Since late last year, it has been battling a more transmissible virus variant called 501Y.V2.
Mkhize said that after the 1 million doses arrive at the OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg they would be subject to technical processes including quality assurance over 10 to 14 days.
They can then be distributed to all provinces, he added during a public webinar. South Africa is due to
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