Africa CDC director Dr John Nkengasong started his weekly Covid-19 briefing on Thursday on a different note by expressing support for the deployment of the AstraZeneca (AZ) Covid-19 vaccine in Africa, after confusing reports last week that the health agency had ditched the vaccine.
“I would like to remind the public that the Africa CDC continues to recommend the uptake of the AstraZeneca vaccine, noting that the benefits of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine continue to outweigh its risks,” he said.
Nkengasong explained that the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Force was no longer negotiating with the vaccine’s biggest manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India (SII), for doses because they were in short supply — and it did not want to compete with its ally, global vaccine sharing platform Covax, which secures its stocks from the SII.
In March India announced it was restricting exports of the AZ Covid-19 vaccine because it needed to use the vaccine for its citizens.
He said: “In January we were in discussion with the SII but did not sign any contract. We did not want to get into competition with Covax, and so we decided to find additional doses (from Johnson & Johnson).
We are in the first wave of vaccinations on the continent.
— Nkengasong
“We are not dumping or dropping our engagement with the SII. If they have vaccines, we would be happy to get them.”
The Africa CDC boss reassured Africans who had got the first dose of the AZ vaccine — and did not know when they would get the second shot — that they would get protection against Covid-19 from the initial, prime boost and did not need to be anxious about a delay.
“There is no need to be worried. The first dose begins to offer protection, and the second one offers a boost, and it doesn’t (matter) if this is delayed by a couple of weeks or months ...
“We are working and using diplomatic channels to make sure India lifts (its restriction) and the second doses are distributed by Covax,” he said.
In March, AZ vaccinations were paused in countries such as Germany after cases of very rare blood clots were reported, but soon resumed after safety reviews by the regulatory authorities.
The European Medicines Agency suggested updated packaging to reflect the potential side effects and noted the benefits far outweighed the risks.
“We should be patient with respect to the evolving vaccine situation. We are in the first wave of vaccinations on the continent,” Nkengasong said. “Two weeks ago we had (concerns about) AstraZeneca. This week it is Johnson & Johnson.”
US and SA regulatory authorities on Tuesday paused their J&J vaccine rollouts to investigate the occurrence of very rare and unusual blood clots, detected in six people out of 6.8 million Americans who got the jab.
Asked about the J&J suspension, Nkengasong replied: “SA has not observed any individuals with (severe) side effects from the J&J vax in nearly 290,000 people.
“This is a very similar scenario to what was observed with the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe: a temporary pause and then governments decided to move forward ...
“The US has the largest number of people vaccinated (with the J&J jab) and in coming days will be able to issue more directed guidance. I’m optimistic that in a couple of days this will be clarified by the US FDA as well as the US CDC.”
The Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team has signed a contract for 220 million doses of the single-shot J&J Covid-19 vaccine, with the option to secure another 180 million doses.
Covax has committed to secure 750 million doses (enough for 375 million people) for African states to protect people against Covid-19.
