Covid-19: South Africa receives a second delivery of Johnson & Johnson vaccines
Johannesburg airport employees unload the second delivery of Johnson & Johnson vaccines on February 27, 2021. AFP - KIM LUDBROOK
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The country received a second delivery of Johnson & Johnson vaccines on Saturday February 27.
South Africa is the country most affected by the Covid epidemic in the entire African continent with around 1.5 million cases and more than 49,000 deaths.
The authorities plan to administer a vaccine to 40 million people, or two-thirds of the population, which would achieve a level of collective immunity.
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Some 80,000 vaccines arrived in Johannesburg yesterday from Belgium.
This is the 2nd delivery of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
According to the authorities, more than 63,600 health workers have already been vaccinated since
the launch of the campaign
11 days ago.
A pace that the authorities are pleased with while last month, they had chosen to interrupt the campaign
with the AstraZeneca vaccine
, the effectiveness of which against the South African variant Covid had been questioned.
For Glenda Gray, president of the South Africa Medical Research Council, this time the vaccination campaign is on the right track.
“
We think this approach is the right one and is working;
and we are proud to be able to offer this vaccine which is administered in a single dose.
We want to thank everyone who is working hard to achieve this ambitious vaccination program.
"
Authorities say 200,000 additional vaccines are expected by the end of March.
After health workers, it will be the turn of the elderly, teachers, mining workers, police, military and civil servants to be vaccinated.
And this while the country fears a third wave of the epidemic as the winter season approaches from May.
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