SOUTH Africa will discuss with the international COVAX vaccine scheme whether it can swap 500,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses it has ordered from the Serum Institute of India but which are yet to arrive, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Wednesday.
“The 500,000 that was ordered, we have actually contacted the Serum Institute, and we will actually be discussing with COVAX whilst it has not been delivered whether it is possible to swap it on COVAX and therefore get a different vaccine,” Mkhize said.
The unusual move comes just days after South Africa paused the rollout of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University following a small clinical trial that showed it did not protect against mild to moderate illness from the 501Y.V2 variant dominant in the country.
One million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, produced by the Serum Institute of India, landed in the country last week, and
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