Africa-Press-South-Africa<\/p>\n
Johannesburg \u2013 The government has extended the State of Disaster until March 15 following a cabinet meeting this week.<\/p>\n
The extension came after President Cyril Ramaphosa eased some of the lockdown restrictions and allowed for the sale of alcohol and extended the curfew period. The country has been in lockdown since the outbreak of Covid-19 last March.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the cabinet also said it fully backed the use of Johnson & Johnson after the government pulled the plug on the rollout of AstraZeneca, after it was found to be less effective against the variant in South Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernment has prioritised the country\u2019s vaccination programme to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Cabinet reassures South Africans that this programme remains on track.<\/p>\n
\u2019\u2019The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will now be used instead of the AstraZeneca vaccine,\u201d said cabinet spokesperson Phumla Williams.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis change follows the comprehensive research conducted by medical scientists which showed that the AstraZeneca had a minimal efficacy against the Covid-19 501Y.V2 variant.<\/p>\n
\u2019\u2019The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has proven effective against the 501Y.V2 variant that is predominately found in the country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCabinet commended the work of the scientists and researchers who made the breakthrough on the efficacy of the vaccines against the 501Y.V2 variant. This affirms the country\u2019s well-established scientific capability that is recognised the world over.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe procurement of the AstraZeneca vaccine was based on its proven efficacy before the discovery of the 501Y.V2 variant in the country.<\/p>\n
\u2019\u2019The consignment that was received from the Serum Institute of India on 1 February, 2021 has not expired and was within the period of the rollout of the first phase of the vaccination programme.<\/p>\n
\u201cCabinet expressed confidence on the planned vaccine rollout that will commence with the more than 1.2 million front-line healthcare workers.<\/p>\n
\u2019\u2019The Department of Health, working with National Treasury, will continue to procure more vaccines to ensure the country achieves its population immunity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Africa-Press-South-Africa Johannesburg \u2013 The government has extended the State of Disaster until March 15 following a cabinet meeting this week. The extension came after President Cyril Ramaphosa eased some of the lockdown restrictions and allowed for the sale of alcohol and extended the curfew period. The country has been in lockdown since the outbreak of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":3050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[315,235],"class_list":["post-4304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-cyril-ramaphosa"],"yoast_head":"\n