Johannesburg – South Africa needs to introduce Kovid-19 vaccines, without requiring local regulatory approval of shots, a move that other low and middle-income countries are expected to follow to vaccinate their populations against coronovirus .
The South African Ministry of Health said in January that the country would receive 1 million doses of the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc from the Serum Institute of India, which has an agreement to manufacture and distribute the shots. A second batch of 500,000 doses is expected for February. The vaccine requires two doses to reach its full effect.
Sabaharan is likely to emulate South Africa’s decision to bypass local regulators in other countries of Africa and developing countries to speed up getting shots for some of its least at-risk citizens. Some lack their own national drug-approval authorities and the World Health Organization is expected to rely on certification to exclude Kovid-19 vaccines.
The shots South Africa has asked for from India will be given to health care workers, who have taken the brunt of the new cases of Kovid-19. Researchers believe that the new wave of infection is developed by a new, potentially more transmitted version of the coronavirus discovered in the country. In December alone, 5,000 health care workers tested positive for the disease, placing an additional burden on the already struggling hospitals.
South Africa, a country of 60 million people, reported 21,832 fresh cases of Kovid-19 on Wednesday, its highest daily count and 392 deaths. About a third of coronovirus tests are coming positive – a sign that the exact number of infections is very high – and the South African Medical Research Council said that more than 7,000 deaths have been recorded in the week of Christmas, most of them occurring. There is a possibility of Kovid-19.
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