South Africa stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine after data emerged that showed it provided minimal protection against the South African coronavirus variant, which is currently dominant in the country.
Reuters reports that Health Minister Zweli Mkhize made the announcement on Sunday after disappointing results from a test conducted by the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
The communication channel reports that the South African government planned to distribute doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday, but will now offer vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.
“The AstraZeneca vaccine will remain with us … until scientists give us clear indications of what we need to do,” said Mkhize.
South Africa’s coronavirus variant is believed to be more infectious and the data suggest that it is more resistant to existing vaccines than the previous coronavirus strain. Vaccines created by AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna are considered effective against the UK variant.
The announcement came a day after Oxford University vaccine researcher Sarah Gilbert said that a modified version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which will be effective against the South African strain, would likely be available in the fall.
“This year we hope to show that the new version of the vaccine will generate antibodies and recognize the new variant. And then it will be a lot like working with flu vaccines, so people will be familiar with the idea that we have to have new components, new strains in the flu vaccine every year, “Gilbert told the BBC on Saturday.
According to Gilbert, the new modified version will require less time and less clinical testing than the original vaccine.