The Johnson and Johnson Sisonke vaccination programme is set to resume on Wednesday after the rollout had been put on hold due to cases of rare blood clots that were reported in six recipients in the United States.
“Today we are pleased to announce that following SAHPRA’s recommendation on 17 April 202 and Cabinet’s concurrence on 21 April 2021, the vaccine rollout will resume through the Sisonke programme on Wednesday, 28 April 2021,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement on Monday.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni announced last week that the use of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine programme was set to continue once the health department was ready. This was after Cabinet agreed to lift the suspension of the programme.
Today we are pleased to announce that, following SAHPRA’s recommendation on 17 April 2021 and Cabinet’s concurrence on 21 April 2021, the vaccine rollout will re- sume through the Sisonke Programme on Wednesday, 28 April 2021 #vaccine #VaccineRolloutSA pic.twitter.com/wOrZ68THaz
— Department of Health (@HealthZA) April 26, 2021
The health department said it had all the doses it needed to vaccinate 500 000 healthcare workers.
“The programme has, on hand, all the doses it needs to complete vaccinating 500 000 healthcare workers through the early access protocol and the teams have been eagerly standing by, looking forward to making up for the lost time by completing the programme in the shortest possible time.
“As such I am happy to say that when Sisonke resumes, vaccinating sites will be expanded to 95 sites across the country and these sites will continue to vaccinate healthcare workers during the phase one beyond the Sisonke Protocol,” Mkhize said.
The Sisonke programme has, on hand, all the doses it needs to complete vaccinating 500 000 health care workers through the early access protocol and the the teams have been eagerly standing by, looking forward to making up for lost time by completing this programme in time. pic.twitter.com/K6c0Iwgwnu
— Department of Health (@HealthZA) April 26, 2021
The minister of health had announced the temporary suspension of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine rollout in South Africa – as a precautionary measure – after the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) indicated that blood clots had been discovered in six female recipients in the United States of America.
“It has since been established there is a one in a million chance of getting the clot after the vaccine and it appears that women between the ages of 18 and 48 years are particularly at risk. With such a low probability of developing a clot, all the regulators across the world have recommended the continued use of Johnson and Johnson,” Mkhize said.
Picture: Cape Town etc gallery
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