This vaccine proved effective in only 10% of cases affected by the variant
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South Africa suspends the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine after data on an internal trial, not yet published, have shown poor protection against the local variant of covid-19, B.1.351, for cases of mild and moderate.
South Africa focuses on others
Consequently, the South African government will aim to administer only the Johnson & Johnson vaccines, for which the request for emergency use has started, and Pfizer, waiting to determine what to do with the one million doses of AstraZeneca recently arrived in the country. The lightning trial involved 2 thousand relatively young volunteers and therefore with a low probability of becoming seriously ill. AstraZeneca’s vaccine would only prove to be 10% effective.
Coming early to us
The news of the early arrival in Italy of the AstraZeneca vaccines, scheduled for this afternoon, is therefore less attractive, at least for a first part of the supply of 32,513 doses, initially established by 14 February. These are intended for priority categories between 18 and 55, i.e. teachers and law enforcement. The start of the administration should therefore be anticipated to next Wednesday or Thursday.
On Monday, however, the program already established for the over 80s will restart with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
Covid-19, first AIFA report on vaccine safety
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