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Johannesburg (dpa) - After South Africa temporarily stopped the planned Astrazeneca vaccinations, the country wants to continue with the Johnson & Johnson active ingredient, which has not yet been approved.
This will be administered in a so-called implementation study, said South Africa's Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize on Wednesday.
In the planned first phase of the vaccination campaign, around 1.25 million health workers are to be vaccinated.
Originally, South Africa - the country in Africa hardest hit by the corona virus - wanted to start its vaccination campaign with the Astrazeneca vaccine.
A million doses of the active ingredient arrived last week.
But at the weekend the universities of Oxford and Witwatersrand published a study according to which the vaccine only provides minimal protection against mild and moderate diseases after infection with the variant B.1.351 that is predominant in South Africa.
As a result, South Africa temporarily stopped the planned Astrazeneca vaccinations.
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In contrast, it has been proven that the Johnson & Johnson vaccination is effective against the variant prevalent in South Africa, said Mkhize.
"The necessary approval procedures for use in South Africa are currently underway."
South Africa has so far recorded 1.4 million corona cases.
The corona variant B.1.351, also called 501Y.V2, is now widespread and has also been found in several other countries.
Because of this, many countries, including Germany, have restricted entry from South Africa and neighboring countries
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210210-99-377828 / 2
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