The government expects to have 80,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) coronavirus vaccine on hand next week to launch its immunisation drive, it emerged on Wednesday.
The supplies are being drawn from J&J’s research stock, as its vaccine has yet to be approved by regulators and no commercial product is currently available. Up to 500,000 doses are potentially available to SA, a vital bridge until key deals still in play bear fruit. The government has secured 9-million doses of J&J’s vaccine and is in talks for 20-million more, but has not yet signed final agreements.
The J&J research stock is vital to avoid major delays in the government’s Covid-19 vaccination programme, after it unexpectedly suspended the planned rollout of AstraZeneca’s vaccine earlier this week.
On Sunday, researchers released preliminary data from a small clinical trial showing AstraZeneca’s shot did not protect recipients from mild to moderate Covid-19 caused by 501Y.V2, the coronavirus variant that now dominates transmission in SA.
The government has decided to pivot to J&J and Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine while it awaits scientific advice on whether to use the AstraZeneca shots.
Many scientists hope AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which uses similar technology to those developed by J&J and Novavax, will still confer protection against severe illness and death.
Health minister Zweli Mkhize said the government was trying to expedite access to the 20-million doses it has secured from Pfizer/BioNTech, in order to press ahead with the first phase of its national immunisation drive, which aims to cover 1.25-million health-care workers.
"I believe we will be able to start some time next week," he said. The precise date would be determined by cabinet.
Independent sources told Business Day that 40,000 double-dose vials of J&J’s Covid-19 vaccine were expected in SA next week, enough to vaccinate 80,000 people.
The J&J vaccine requires only a single dose.
As J&J’s shot has not yet been approved by regulators, it will be provided to health-care workers as part of a study conducted by the Medical Research Council and the national health department. The intention is to provide the vaccine to all participating health-care workers and investigate any "breakthrough" infections, said Mkhize.
J&J filed for emergency use authorisation to the US Food and Drug Administration last week and has initiated rolling submissions with several other regulators outside the US, including the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority. It is also expected to submit a conditional marketing authorisation application to the European Medicines Agency in the next few weeks.
Mkhize said Aspen Pharmacare, which concluded a deal last year with J&J to fill and package its vaccine at its Port Elizabeth site, could begin production as early as April. "That process is going very well. They are very determined to fast-track production in SA," he said.
Mkhize said the government was in talks with the international vaccine financing mechanism Covax and the AU to exchange AstraZeneca’s shot for others that have proved effective against the 501Y.V2.
The government has on hand 1-million doses of a 1.5-million dose order of AstraZeneca’s shot from the Serum Institute of India and was expecting millions more in the coming months from Covax and the AU’s African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (Avatt).
Last week, Covax released its first interim distribution plan, allocating 2.976-million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine and 117,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s to SA. Avatt has secured 270-million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca, J&J and Pfizer, with allocations to African nations based on their population size, but has not yet released details of how many doses of each shot are earmarked to participating nations.
Mkhize said the potential vaccine exchanges with Covax and Avatt would not have any cost implications for SA. "We will be swapping value for value."
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.