South Africa to Buy Russian and Chinese Vaccines

South Africa – the nation hit the hardest on the continent by the coronavirus – is set to use Russia’s Sputnik V and China’s Sinopharm Group shots as part of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

According to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, the government has plans to buy 10 million doses of each vaccine.

He said: “We are doing this now because we do expect the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority to approve those vaccines.”

Meanwhile, South Africa resumed their rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to healthcare workers on Wednesday, 28 April, this week, after it was briefly put on hold due to concerns that they could cause blood clots.

According to the Health Ministry, the country has secured enough jabs for 45 million adults, with shots developed by Pfizer and BioNTech also being ordered.

Mkhize said: “Plans are in place to inoculate 16.5 million people from May to October with the aid of private health-care providers, which will buy shots from the national government.”

South Africa has seen almost 1.58 million COVID-19 cases, with 54 thousand of those succumbing to the virus.