South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has announced that the country would on Wednesday resume its nationwide coronavirus vaccination programme to inoculate 46 million people to achieve herd immunity.
Mkhize suspended the vaccinations two weeks ago following questions over the safety of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine which had been found to cause brain blood clots in 16 American women, three of whom are said to have died from the complications.
US health authorities, however, have now declared that the J & J vaccines’ overall safety overrode the risk of not taking any vaccines at all, thereby approving the continued use of the drug.
According to Mkhize on Monday, the resumption of the vaccination programme comes after the recommendation of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority to government and the Cabinet’s approval to the health experts’ opinion.
“We’re looking forward to making up for the lost time by completing this programme in the shortest possible time,” Mkhize said.
The health ministry has set up 95 vaccination sites across the country to vaccinate healthcare workers during this first phase, he added.
The minister said his government remained committed to inoculate 1.2 million frontline workers under the first phase which ends on 16 May.
NM/jn/APA