South Africa hopes to vaccinate 40 million people, or two-thirds of the population, to achieve some level of herd immunity but has yet to administer a single shot. After a second surge, cases and deaths in South Africa have begun to fall recently, but it is still battling one of Africa’s most severe outbreaks, with more than 46,000 deaths. Most of the vaccines being tested require two doses; Johnson & Johnson is an exception. An added complication is that the AstraZeneca doses in South Africa have an April expiration date, making it difficult to administer two doses within such a short period. Last week, Sarah Gilbert of Oxford University, who helped develop the AstraZeneca vaccine, said researchers were currently working to tweak their vaccine by inserting a genetic sequence from the new variant.

Source: Indian Express February 09, 2021 03:11 UTC