• The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts recommends the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for all adults, given eight to 12 weeks apart – regardless of the current lack of evidence in older adults and including in areas where variants are circulating. The group noted “…urgent need for a coordinated approach for surveillance and evaluation of variants and their potential impact on vaccine effectiveness”. Source
• Globally, more than 152 million vaccine doses have been administered.
• South Africa’s Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize, announces that the country has abandoned plans to give AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine to frontline healthcare workers. Instead, it will provide J & J’s vaccine, which is not yet approved in any country. In a phase III trial in South Africa, the J & J vaccine was 57% effective at preventing moderate disease and 89% effective against severe disease from the B.1.351 variant. Sources 1,2,3
