SA’s J&J vaccine roll-out begins
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Eighty-thousand Johnson & Johnson jabs touched down at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday and were distributed to 16 sites across the country where healthcare workers will be vaccinated.
This marks the start of South Africa’s new, adjusted vaccine roll-out plan where jabs will be given as part of an implementation study conducted by the South African Medical Research Council and the Department of Health. The study will focus on “real-life” environment roll-out issues and gather additional data on side-effects and the protection the shot offers against severe Covid-19 disease caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) variant, 501Y.V2, that is now dominant in South Africa.
Michael Avery sat down with Anban Pillay, Deputy director-general of health who has been directly involved in the vaccine procurement drive, to break down everything you need to know about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – how well it works against the new variant, how many doses will be going to which sites (see our interactive map), and how many more vaccines will be arriving and when.
This marks the start of South Africa’s new, adjusted vaccine roll-out plan where jabs will be given as part of an implementation study conducted by the South African Medical Research Council and the Department of Health. The study will focus on “real-life” environment roll-out issues and gather additional data on side-effects and the protection the shot offers against severe Covid-19 disease caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) variant, 501Y.V2, that is now dominant in South Africa.
Michael Avery sat down with Anban Pillay, Deputy director-general of health who has been directly involved in the vaccine procurement drive, to break down everything you need to know about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – how well it works against the new variant, how many doses will be going to which sites (see our interactive map), and how many more vaccines will be arriving and when.