Prognosis
South Africa’s First Vaccines to Arrive Amid Criticism
- Vaccines from Serum Institute to land in country on Feb. 1
- Health Minister Mkhize says its a ‘massive achievement’
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
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South Africa’s first vaccines will arrive in the country on Feb. 1, signaling the start of an inoculation program that has been criticized for its tardiness.
The first million of 1.5 million doses of the shot developed by AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford and produced by the Serum Institute of India Ltd. have been cleared by South African regulators for use, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said at a press conference Wednesday. They will be ready for distribution 10 to 14 days later, he said. The campaign will prioritize 1.25 million health workers although the double shot regime of the vaccine means that only 750,000 can be inoculated.