Covid-19: AstraZeneca-Oxford's vaccine ineffective against the South African variant

On 7 February 2021, South Africa put a halt to its Covid-19 vaccination campaign.

The decision was taken after trials conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, which revealed that the vaccine developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca is not fully effective against the South African Covid-19 variant.

The study showed that the vaccine is only 22 percent effective against moderate forms of the South African variant. The result has not yet been confirmed by other experts.

For the record, six days earlier, South Africa received its first batch of vaccine from AstraZeneca-Oxford, intended for 1.2 million health workers.

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