By Dr Ndiviwe Mphothulo
On February 7, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, with a panel of experts, hosted a media briefing to outline new developments in South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccine acquisition and roll out.
The press briefing followed results of a small study that showed that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, of which South Africa had procured one million doses from the Serum Institute of India, may not be highly effective against the stain in South Africa.
Following this press briefing, there was uproar and confusion. It is important to understand scientists do not have advantage of hindsight and there has been a transparent approach by the government in this process. It is important to go back and reflect on the process.
Late last year, South Africa paid a deposit to COVAX facility to secure a vaccine. COVAX facility is a World Health Organization (WHO) coordinated fund that seeks to distribute vaccines globally in a fair manner.
But as South Africa, we did not put our eggs in one basket, so we approached individual vaccine manufacturers. The best option at the time became AstraZeneca (AZ). At the time of procurement of AZ, we were not aware of the existence of the 501Y.V2 variant.
Before the rollout of AZ, our scientists conducted a study on effectiveness of AZ against 501Y.V2 variant and found that AZ it is only 22% effective against 501Y.2 variant for mild and moderate disease, but we know from previous studies that it is about 90% effective against old variant.
The fact that South Africa conducted its own studies to determine effectiveness of AZ against 501Y.V2 variant should be applauded.
The South African study did not make findings on effectiveness of AZ against severe illness caused by 501Y.V2 variant, whilst international studies found that AZ is effective against severe disease and hospitalisation by the normal COVID-19 stain.
The plan going forward is to vaccinate 100 000 people with AZ and find out about its effectiveness against severe disease in our circumstances. If it is indeed effective, we continue with it to prevent severe disease. If it’s not effective, we can still continue with it and wait for a “booster dose” in the future.
Companies are currently designing “Booster doses”, that are effective against 501Y.V2 variant. Unfortunately, we are dealing with a dynamic situation and a virus that is trying to outsmart us. We keep on soldering on and trying to outsmart the virus.
We should not despair because although Astra-Zeneca vaccine results are disappointing, there are some positives.
- It will protect one in four people against variants from the first wave.
- May protect one in four people from the new variant in second wave.
- Likely to protect all from severe disease.
It is also important to make the public understand the concept of expiry dates on vaccines. Regulators are not able to certify an expiry date of the vaccine beyond a period of six months as there is no data.
The regulators therefore are guided by reports from health authorities in different countries on how much longer the vaccine remains stable beyond six months, so the expiry date may or may not be extended depending on new information available.
(Note: The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Taung DailyNews. This article appeared first on the ANC magazine)
Dr Ndiviwe Mphothulo: MBCHB, Diploma in HIV Management (SA), MBL, MPH, PHD Candidate (Public Health). MB CHB (MEDUNSA), MPH (UL, MEDUNSA Campus), Dip HIV Man (SA), MBL (UNISA), PHD Candidate (UKZN)
Member of Board of Directors & Deputy President: Southern African HIV Clinicians Society.
Member of the Executive Committee and Treasurer: Rural Doctors Association of SA (RuDASA).
ANC, Ward 23, Johannesburg Region Gauteng Province.
The Guardian 