COVID-19 vaccination in South Africa is an ongoing

immunisation Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an infectious agent (known as the immunogen). When this system is exposed to molecules that are foreign to the body, called ''non-sel ...

campaign against

severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a No ...

(SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes

coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

(COVID-19), in response to the ongoing pandemic in the country. Covid-19 vaccination in South Africa (Fully vaccinated)

On 17 February 2021,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

started its national vaccination program against

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The program will go through in phases, prioritizing

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

and

frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

workers and then those over the age of 60. According to health officials,

has administered 31,439,128 vaccine doses across the country as of 28 February 2022. South Africa has accepted delivery of 3 different vaccines, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca, administering both Janssen and Pfizer-BioNTech, with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine suspended, after a small study cast doubt on its effectiveness against the

Beta variant The Beta variant, (B.1.351), was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. One of several SARS-CoV-2 variants initially believed to be of particular importance, it was first detected in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan are ...

Background

Rollout strategy

Registration

As of 20 October 2021, registration for the COVID-19 vaccine has been opened to people aged 12 and older. There are currently 5 ways to register for the vaccine, including online on the EVDS platform. All services are zero rated, meaning airtime, data or money are not required to use the service.

Vaccines on order

has ordered 60 million doses of

vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity The adaptive immune system, also known as the acquired immune system, is a subsystem of the immune system that is composed of specialized, systemic cells and pro ...

, received 52.6 million doses in donations and expects a total of 9 million doses from Covax, with 320 million doses of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) and Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines to be

manufactured Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a rang ...

locally In mathematics, a mathematical object is said to satisfy a property locally, if the property is satisfied on some limited, immediate portions of the object (e.g., on some ''sufficiently small'' or ''arbitrarily small'' neighborhoods of points). P ...

for international and local distribution. South Africa has accepted delivery of 11,059,420 doses of vaccines, with 1.5 million doses cleared after local manufacturing.

Vaccine Consignments

Johnson & Johnson consignment (Phase III/Sisonke Protocol)

Johnson & Johnson Consignment (Section 21/EUA Approval)

Oxford-AstraZeneca Consignment

Pfizer-BioNTech Consignment

CoronaVac Consignment

Not yet ordered. Waiting for evidence of efficacy against Delta variant and for those with HIV

Donations

COVAX

has so far paid R283 million ($20 million) to the organization in December 2020.

COVAX COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by the GAVI vaccine alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the World Hea ...

has delivered 1.4 million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine to the country on 28 June 2021.

Covax Consignment

History

Timeline

February 2021

On 1 February 2021, 1 million doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine at O. R. Tambo International Airport sent by the

Serum Institute of India Serum Institute of India (SII) is an Indian biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals company, based in Pune. It is the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines. It was founded by Cyrus Poonawalla in 1966 and is a part of Cyrus Poonawalla Group. O ...

. On 7 February 2021, it was announced that the

Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine The Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID19 vaccine, sold under the brand names Covishield and Vaxzevria among others, is a viral vector vaccine for prevention of COVID-19. Developed in the United Kingdom by Oxford University and British-Swedish comp ...

did not work well in protecting clinical trial participants from mild or moderate illness caused by the 501.V2 variant. The vaccination program was announced to be put on a hold. On 16 February 2021,

received its first consignment of 80,000 doses of the Janssen vaccine and approved the vaccine for Phase III use under Sisonke Protocol for all health workers On 17 February 2021, the national COVID vaccination program was officially rolled out, beginning at Khayelitsha District Hospital in the

Western Cape Province The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

where

healthcare workers A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (suc ...

, the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

and

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

Zweli Mkhize Zwelini Lawrence Mkhize (born 2 February 1956) is a South African medical doctor and politician who served as the Minister of Health (South Africa), Minister of Health from May 2019 until his resignation on 5 August 2021. He previously served as ...

were given shots of the

Janssen COVID-19 vaccine The Janssen COVID19 vaccine, sold under the brand name Jcovden, is a COVID19 vaccine that was developed by Janssen Vaccines in Leiden, Netherlands, and its Belgian parent company Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of American company Joh ...

. On 27 February 2021,

had received its second consignment of 80,000 doses of the Janssen vaccine.

March 2021

On 5 March 2021, the number of doses administered surpassed 100,000. On 13 March 2021,

received Part 1 of its third consignment of 40,000

. On 17 March 2021,

South African Health Products Regulatory Authority The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) is the organisation in charge of regulating the use of all Health Products throughout the country. It is part of the National Department of Health. SAHPRA assumed the roles of b ...

(SAHPRA) approved the Pfizer–BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for use. On 18 March 2021,

received Part 2 of its third consignment of 66,000 Janssen vaccine. On 19 March 2021, ImmunityBio announced that they will be conducting Phase 1 vaccine trials with their hAd5 vaccine in the United States and

. On 21 March 2021,

sold and began transporting its 1 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to other African Union Members. Concerns over the rollout of the vaccine in

African countries This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa. It includes both fully recognised states, states with limited or zero recognition, and dependent territories of both African and non-African states. It lists 56 sovereign state ...

have been raised, as the 501Y.V2 variant speeds through

, with

suspending the vaccine after a trial cast doubt on its effectiveness against the beta variant. On 29 March 2020, the manufacturing of 220 million doses of the Janssen vaccine was approved to begin at the Aspen Pharmacare manufacturing facility in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

April 2021

On 1 April 2021, the Janssen vaccine received Section 21 Approval ( EUA), allowing for use outside of the current

Phase III Trial The phases of clinical research are the stages in which scientists conduct experiments with a health intervention to obtain sufficient evidence for a process considered effective as a medical treatment. For drug development, the clinical phases ...

( Sisonke Protocol). On 6 April 2021, the government officially signed a deal with

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

for 20 million vaccines expected to begin arriving by the end of April. On 13 April 2021,

announced the suspension of

use following health concerns raised by the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(FDA). On 16 April 2021, The EVDS platform opened for Phase 2, allowing

essential workers A key worker, critical worker or essential worker is a public-sector or private-sector employee who is considered to provide an essential service. The term has been used in the United Kingdom in the context of workers who may find it difficult t ...

and the

elderly Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

to register. On 17 April 2021, the government announced that the first batch of 325,260 doses of Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine would arrive on 3 May 2021. From there the same amount of doses are expected to arrive weekly, until 31 May 2021, where the number of daily doses delivered will increase to 636,480 weekly. On 23 April 2021, 500,000 doses of the Janssen vaccine were delivered under the early access program (Sisonke Programme), with a further 1,000,000 million doses to arrive in April. On 24 April 2021,

Aspen Pharmacare Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited is a public multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Durban, South Africa. Founded in 1997, it listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 1998 and purchased South African Druggists in 199 ...

announced that 1.1 million doses of the Janssen vaccine were due for release and to be used by

. On 26 April 2021, the government announced that the use of the

would resume on Wednesday, 28 April 2021 with vaccination sites expanded to 95 sites countrywide. On 28 April 2021, the

Janssen vaccines Janssen Vaccines, formerly Crucell, is a biotechnology company specializing in vaccines and biopharmaceutical technologies. It was formed when Johnson & Johnson acquired the Dutch biotech company Crucell based in Leiden and placed it in their ph ...

suspension was lifted, and given the full approval for use by SAPRAH.

May 2021

On 2 May 2021, the government announced that the first 1.1 million doses of the Janssen vaccine would receive an extended safety assessment, in line with international regulators, and stock would be released in mid May. On 3 May 2021, the first batch of 325,260 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport via

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

and

Astral Aviation Astral Aviation is a cargo airline based in Nairobi, Kenya. It was established in November 2000 and started operations in January 2001. It operates scheduled and non-scheduled/ad hoc cargo charters to regional destinations in Africa and to Lièg ...

. The vaccines were then sent to the National Control Laboratory for quality assurance. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is set to be rolled out to

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...

from 17 May 2021. On 9 May 2021, the second batch of 325,260 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport via

and

. On 10 May 2021, the last week of the Sisonke Protocol (Phase 3b) began. The trial was expanded to non patient facing

health care workers A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (suc ...

, including administrative and supportive staff due to sufficient capacity and doses. On 15 May 2021, the Sisonke Protocol ended with a total of 478 733 doses given to health care workers. The remaining doses were allocated to the Medical Research Council to conduct further studies of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine on certain population groups. On 16 May 2021, the third batch of 325,260 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport via

and

. On 17 May 2021, Phase 2 of the vaccination program began and started with vaccinating old age homes with the 2-dose Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. Phase 2 ran alongside phase 1B to vaccinate the remaining 500 000 health care workers. On 24 May 2021, the fourth and final batch of 325,260 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport via

and

. Following this, next week doses delivered will increase to 636,480 doses weekly. On 31 May 2021, the first batch of 636,480 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport via

and

. This delivery is the first batch of consignment 2 with an incremental increase of 311,220 doses weekly. On 31 May 2021, the total number of vaccine doses administered surpassed 1 million.

June 2021

On 7 June 2021, the second batch of 636,480 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. On 11 June 2021, the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

and

(FDA) released a statement on the Janssen vaccine, produced at the

Emergent BioSolutions Emergent BioSolutions Inc. is an American multinational specialty biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It develops vaccines and antibody therapeutics for infectious diseases and opioid overdoses, and it provides me ...

Plant in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, United States. This resulted in the vaccines also produced at the

plant need further assessment by SAHPRA and the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

. To get the South African program back on the roll, 300 000 doses are cleared to be shipped to

as a matter of extreme urgency. On 14 June 2021, the third batch of 636,480 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. On 18 June 2021, 300,000 doses of the Janssen vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. This is the first batch of the emergency consignment due to contamination of locally manufactured doses. These doses are expected to be used mainly by teachers and the SANDF and SAPS. On 18 June 2021, the total number of vaccine doses administered surpassed 2 million. On 21 June 2021, the fourth batch of 636,480 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. On 25 June 2021, the second batch of 1,200,000 doses of the Janssen vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. On 28 June 2021, the fifth batch of 636,480 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. By the end of the month, 2.7 million vaccine doses had been administered. 2% of the target population had been fully vaccinated by the end of June.

July 2021

On 3 July 2021, SAHPRA approved

China's China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Sinovac CoronaVac Vaccine for local use via emergency use authorisation on the condition that

Sinovac Sinovac Biotech Ltd. () is a Chinese biopharmaceutical company based in Haidian District, Beijing that focuses on the research, development, manufacture, and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases. The comp ...

provides further information on risk and efficacy. On 5 July 2021, the

announced that the government would now reimburse private sites for the vaccinations of all uninsured people. Allowing any person qualified for a vaccine to be allocated to the most appropriate site, regardless if it is private or public. The rollout for the Police Force, South Africa National Defense Force, Inmates and Prison Staff commenced. On 7 July 2021, the 190,710 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. During the

2021 South African unrest The 2021 South African unrest, also known as the Zuma unrest or Zuma riots, was a wave of civil unrest occurred in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces from 9 to 18 July 2021, sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob ...

, the vaccine rollout encountered a slowdown as businesses and vaccine sites were shut down due to protests and looting in

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

and

Kwazulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

. On 12 July 2021, 288,990 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. On 14 July 2021, the rollout for educators officially ended with more than 500 000 people being vaccinated. However, any educators who could not make it to a vaccination site during the official program still qualify to be vaccinated. On 15 July 2021, the rollout for Correctional Services officials began. On 19 July 2021, the rollout for 240 000 social development staff began. This program includes early childhood development (ECD) workforce, social service professionals, community development practitioners and frontline Department of Social Development staff. On 19 July 2021, 973,920 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. On 20 July 2021, the rollout for inmates at 90 correctional centres began. On 21 July 2021,

and

BioNTech BioNTech SE ( ; or short for Biopharmaceutical New Technologies) is a German biotechnology company based in Mainz that develops and manufactures active immunotherapies for patient-specific approaches to the treatment of diseases. It develops ...

signed a letter of intent with

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

based Biovac, committing to allow Biovac to 'fill and finish' 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in the African Union. The first doses completed by Biovac will only be released in 2022. On 24 July 2021, the Janssen vaccine got incorporated into the general vaccine rollout, no longer only for essential worker programs, due to the close expiry date for the emergency consignment doses and confirmation that additional doses would soon arrive. On 25 July 2021, President Ramaphosa announced the start date of vaccinations for all people over 18 and announced that within the next 2 to 3 months an additional 31 million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine and the Janssen vaccine will arrive. On 26 July 2021, 968,760 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. On 31 July 2021, 2,830,000 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine donated by the United States arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. 7.6 million vaccine doses had been administered by the end of July, while 12% of the target population had been fully vaccinated.

August 2021

On 13 August 2021, the

announced that although vaccine supply had stabilised, demand for vaccinations was low. They specifically pointed out a lack of sustained interest from the 35-50 age group and men across the country in general. They further adjusted their goal to have 28 million people vaccinated by the end of December by administering approximately 35 million doses. On 18 August 2021, Cabinet approved the early start of vaccinations for all over 18, to increase demand. The start date was moved from 1 September to 20 August On 20 August 2021, the rollout began for all documented persons over 18, with 560 000 registrations in the 18-34 group on the first day. On 27 August 2021, the

announced that the US would donate another 2.2 Million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. They further stated that low weekend vaccinations were due to lack of health care workers able to work weekends with the hope that as the 3rd wave ends more workers would become available. They also said that they were in the process of procuring

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includin ...

vaccine due to data that it is efficacious against the Delta variant but were unable to find a supplier with stock. They expected stock to become available in September/October. They reiterated that they had not yet ordered

CoronaVac CoronaVac, also known as the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, is a whole inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech. It was Phase III clinical trialled in Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Turke ...

as they were still waiting for further clinical data. On 30 August 2021, the

released an updated circular recommending all pregnant and lactating women get vaccinated with either of the available vaccines. By the end of the month, 11.1 million vaccine doses had been administered. 19% of the target population had been fully vaccinated by the end of the month.

September 2021

On 3 September 2021, the health minister stated vaccinations would only open to those under 18 once 70% of the over 18 population was vaccinated. The country had the capacity to vaccinate between 300 000 and 400 000 people a day. The Government was not yet mandating vaccinations but would rather try incentivise through entrance to entertainment, cultural and sporting events. On 10 September 2021, the health minister announced plans for issuing digital vaccine certificates, which would be printable and would be issued to all people with vaccination data already on the EVDS platform. These certificates would be in line with WHO guidelines to prevent fraud. On 11 September 2021, SAHPRA announced that the EUA for the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine was extended to include all people 12 and older, creating opportunity for teenagers and children to be included in the vaccination rollout in the future. On 15 September 2021, a circular was released to prioritise the Janssen vaccine stock for rural areas, pop up and mobile sites only until the supply stabilises. On 17 September 2021, the health minister stated that they were currently focussing on vaccinating people 50 years and older but would review the decision to open to under 18s at the end of October. The Draft implementation of the digital vaccine certificates would be submitted to the national coronavirus command council in 2 weeks and would be rolled out once approved. The certificates would not be used for access to essential services but would give vaccinated people access to more activities. The government would not implement vaccine mandates in the public sector but would not interfere with mandates in the private sector and at higher education institutions as long as the mandates are implemented legally. On 29 September 2021, the health department confirmed that the vaccine certificate would be made available on 5 October. It would be downloadable from a website and could be printed. It would have a QR code to scan to verify authenticity and would link to the person's ID number. On 30 September 2021, President Ramaphosa stated that 60% of people over 60 and 50% of those between 50 and 59 had received at least one vaccine dose. He further restated the goal of vaccinating 70% of adults by the year end in hope to save up to 20 000 lives. By the end of the month, 17.8 million vaccine doses had been administered. 38% of the target population had been fully vaccinated by the end of the month.

October 2021

On 5 October 2021, the vaccine certificate system went online in a testing phase with the full release planned for Friday. On 6 October 2021, the health department confirmed that expiry dates were present on the vaccine certificates due to plans to update the system to increase security and comply with future international standards. There were plans to release a second version at the end of October and a third at the end of November On 8 October 2021, the vaccine certificates officially launched. However, verifying the authenticity of the certificate by scanning the QR code would only be implemented at the end of October. The certificate could be used for international travel, with the UK already confirming they would accept it from 11 October. The health department confirmed that an announcement about vaccinating people between 12 and 18 would be made before the end of October. On 15 October 2021, the health department confirmed that vaccinations would open to people 12 to 17 on Wednesday 20 October. They could receive 1 Pfizer dose at any vaccination site and would not require parents' consent. They would not currently get a second dose due to concerns of

myocarditis Myocarditis, also known as inflammatory cardiomyopathy, is an acquired cardiomyopathy due to inflammation of the heart muscle. Symptoms can include shortness of breath, chest pain, decreased ability to exercise, and an irregular heartbeat. The ...

in teenage boys. The Ministerial Adversary Committee also recommended a 2nd Jansen shot for all Sisonke trial participants, pending SAHPRA approval. Doses for this program would be donated by Johnson & Johnson. The health department also confirmed that pilot programs were in place to vaccinate undocumented people at specific vaccination sites and would be slowly expanded. On 18 October 2021, SAHPRA announced that they would not be authorising the

Sputnik V Sputnik V (russian: Спутник V, the brand name from RDIF) or Gam-COVID-Vac (russian: Гам-КОВИД-Вак, the name under which it is legally registered and produced) is an adenovirus viral vector vaccine for COVID-19 developed by ...

vaccine for emergency use due to concerns about the use of Ad5-vectored vaccines in a population at high risk of HIV infections and the fact that the vaccine had not received Emergency Use Listing by the WHO. The rolling review would, however, remain open for further data to be submitted. On 19 October 2021, vaccinations opened to people 12 to 17 with 39 109 registrations (0.6% of the age group) on the first day. By the end of the month, 22.4 million vaccine doses had been administered. 51% of the target population had been fully vaccinated by the end of the month.

November 2021

On 27 November 2021, a circular was released recommending additional doses to all over 18 with any of the listed immunocompromised conditions or undergoing immunosuppressive treatments. It was recommenced to get an additional dose of the same vaccine 28 days after their last one. Patients would be required to full out a form to prove their condition and then record of the additional vaccine would be reflected on the EVDs. This program would commence on 1 December. By the end of the month, 25.3 million vaccine doses had been administered. 60% of the target population had been fully vaccinated by the end of the month.

December 2021

On 8 December 2021, SAHPRA approved a 3rd dose of the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine for all those over 18, 6 months after the 2nd dose, and an additional dose for those immunocompromised, 12 and older, to be administered 28 days after the 2nd dose. On 9 December 2021, a circular was released stating that people between 12 and 17 were now allowed to get a second dose of the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine at the regular dosing intervals of 42 days after the 1st dose. On 23 December 2021, SAHPRA approved a second dose of the Jansen vaccine for 2 months after the first dose and also approved a heterologous booster dose where a Jansen vaccine is given 6 months after the second Comirnaty dose. 28 million vaccine doses had been administered by the end of the month. 66% of the target population had been fully vaccinated.

January 2022

On 25 January 2022, SAHPRA registered the Comirnaty COVID-19 On 31 January 2022, SAHPRA registered Sinopharm's COVID19 vaccine under the name "COVID-19 vaccine MC Pharma" Almost 30 million vaccine doses had been administered by the end of the month. 71% of the target population had been fully vaccinated.

February 2022

On the 4th it was announced that South African scientists had replicated the

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine The Moderna COVID19 vaccine (INN: elasomeran), sold under the brand name Spikevax, is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by American company Moderna, the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Biomedi ...

. On the 21st, reductions were made to the minimum number of days allowed for extra doses or boosters.

March 2022

From the 14th, a second booster was allowed for those whose primary vaccination was with the Janssen vaccine.

Vaccine Trials

On 17 March 2020, the

announced that it would expedite review of treatments,

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...

s and

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

s. Currently a total of 6 vaccine candidates are under

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

Janssen

Both Phase II and Phase III

trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine were conducted in

beginning late February 2021 and April 2021. Phase II Trials, enrolled about 800 across

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

and proved to be 64%

effective Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to produce desired output. When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression. Etymology The ori ...

. Phase III

Trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

under Sisonke Protocol began early April enrolling 500,000 participants. This

was completed successfully, it consisted of half a million of

South Africa's South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

health workers and Phase I of the vaccine rollout. In January,

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

, which held trials for its Janssen vaccine in

, reported the level of protection against moderate to severe

infection was 72% in the United States, but 57% in

Pfizer–BioNTech

Both Phase II and Phase III trials of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine were conducted in

beginning late May 2020. Pfizers vaccine appeared to be 100% effective at preventing cases of the South African variant,

B.1.351 The Beta variant, (B.1.351), was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. One of several SARS-CoV-2 variants initially believed to be of particular importance, it was first detected in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan are ...

. On 17 February 2021,

announced neutralization activity was reduced by two thirds for the 501.V2 variant, while stating no claims about the efficacy of the vaccine in preventing illness for this variant could yet be made.

Oxford–AstraZeneca

Both Phase I and Phase II of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine were conducted in

. Phase 1 and

Phase 2 Michael Lawrence Marrow (August 2, 1955 – December 12, 2019), known as PHASE 2 and Lonny Wood, was an American aerosol paint artist based in New York City. Mostly active in the 1970s, Phase 2 is generally credited with originating the "bubble l ...

began mid June 2020 consisting of about 2,130 participants. The trial revealed that the vaccine does not have at least 60% efficacy against mild-moderate

due to the

( 501Y.V2) variant. This resulted in the vaccine being suspended and the 1 million doses derived being sold to other Members of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

. On 6 February 2021,

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikk ...

reported that provisional trial data from a study undertaken by

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

in conjunction with

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

demonstrated reduced efficacy of the

against the 501.V2 variant. The study found that in a sample size of 2,000 the AZD1222 vaccine afforded only "minimal protection" in all but the most severe cases of

. On 7 February 2021, the

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

for

suspended the planned deployment of around 1 million doses of the vaccine whilst they examined the data and awaited advice on how to proceed. Ultimately, around March 2021, the roll-out of Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine in South Africa was cancelled, and the short-dated stock offered to other African countries.

Novavax

A Phase II

Trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

of the Novavax vaccine of 4,400 people was conducted from August 2020 to November 2021 in

, that showed that the vaccine was 51% effective, compared to 89% in the US The vaccine had an efficacy of 51% against infections caused by the South African variant among people who were HIV negative. The

was only 43% effective in the group that included people who were

HIV positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

GRAd-COV2

Phase II and Phase III

GRAd-COV2 GRAd-COV2 is a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by ReiThera Srl and Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases. It is based on a novel replication defective Gorilla Adenovirus and encodes for SARS-COV-2 full length prefus ...

are being conducted in

ImmunityBio

The BioVac Institute, a state-backed

n vaccine company, has a contract with American based ImmunityBio Inc. to manufacture the ImmunityBio vaccine. ImmunityBio is currently conducting Phase I and Phase II

. Trials began January 2021 consisting of about only 35 participants in Phase I.

Vaccine Effectiveness

Janssen

In January,

, which held trials for its Janssen vaccine in

, reported the level of protection against moderate to severe COVID-19 infection was 72% in the United States, but 57% in

. After

Phase III trials The phases of clinical research are the stages in which scientists conduct experiments with a health intervention to obtain sufficient evidence for a process considered effective as a medical treatment. For drug development, the clinical phases ...

completed,

received Section 21 approval from SAHPRA on 31 March 2021. In a manufacturing deal,

began to manufacture 220 million vaccines at the

manufacturing facility in

. They plan to distribute the vaccine to other

with 30 million to go to

Oxford–AstraZeneca

On 6 February 2021,

reported that provisional trial data from a study undertaken by

in conjunction with

demonstrated reduced efficacy of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine against the 501.V2 variant. The study found that in a sample size of 2,000 the AZD1222 vaccine afforded only "minimal protection" in all but the most severe cases of

. On 7 February 2021, the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

suspended the planned deployment of around 1 million doses of the vaccine whilst they examined the data and awaited advice on how to proceed. The South African government subsequently cancelled the use of the vaccine, selling its supply to other

, and switched its vaccination program to use the

. On 27 August 2021, the government announced that they were in the process of procuring the

due to data showing good protection against the Delta variant but were only expecting stock to become available late September/early October.

Sputnik V

The

(SAHPRA) has confirmed that it has received documentation for the vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Russia. The Sputnik V vaccine is one of three Covid vaccines worldwide with an efficacy higher than 90% in symptomatic cases. They are still in the process of testing its effectiveness against the 501Y.V2 variant of the virus.

Pfizer–BioNTech

On 17 February 2021,

announced neutralization activity of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine was reduced by two thirds for the South African

, while stating no claims about the efficacy of the vaccine in preventing illness for this variant could yet be made. On 16 March 2021, The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for section 21 Emergency Use Authorisation. A trial ending in March 2021 of the Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine appeared to be highly effective at preventing cases of the Beta variant. The trial consisted of 800 people, with a total of 9 cases, all in the placebo group. Covid19 vaccine biontech pfizer 3

Moderna

In February,

Moderna Moderna, Inc. ( ) is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that focuses on RNA therapeutics, primarily mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produ ...

reported that the current

Moderna vaccine The Moderna COVID19 vaccine (INN: elasomeran), sold under the brand name Spikevax, is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by American company Moderna, the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Biomedi ...

produced only one-sixth of the antibodies in response to the

n variant compared with the original virus. They have launched a trial of a new vaccine to tackle the

n 501.V2 variant.

Sinopharm BIBP

Other

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n countries have begun the roll out of the Sinopharm BIBP vaccine, including

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

The Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. So far, it has proven resistant to the 501Y.V2 variant, as seen in

CoronaVac

is yet to be approved for use by the

(SAHPRA). On 3 July 2021, the vaccine was approved under section 21, EUA.

is currently in negotiation with

to provide 5 million doses of the vaccine.

Covaxin

Bharat Biotech Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) is an Indian multinational biotechnology company headquartered in the city of Hyderabad, India engaged in the drug discovery, drug development, manufacture of vaccines, bio-therapeutics, pharmaceuti ...

, producers of

Covaxin Covaxin (codenamed as BBV152) is a whole inactivated virus-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research - National Institute of Virology. As of October 2021, 110.6 million ...

, have said that they can modify the vaccine against coronavirus

n variant within 15 days.

CoviVac

The CoviVac vaccine vaccine Information has not been delivered to the

South African government The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority ...

yet.

EpiVacCorona

The

EpiVacCorona EpiVacCorona ( rus, ЭпиВакКорона, EpiVacCorona) is a Peptide vaccine, peptide-based vaccine against COVID-19 vaccine, COVID-19 developed by the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR, VECTOR center of Virology. ...

vaccine Information has not been delivered to the

yet.

Zifivax

The Zifivax vaccine Information is in the process of being delivered to the

South African Government The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority ...

Novavax

A study on the Novavax vaccine showed 60% efficacy (for HIV-negative participants) in

, compared to 90% efficacy in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

ImmunityBio

The Biovac Institute, a state-backed

n vaccine company, plans to use a deal it won to manufacture the ImmunityBio vaccine. The contract with American based ImmunityBio Inc is currently conducting phase 1 vaccine trials with their hAd5 vaccine in the United States and

. ImmunityBio and Biovac plan to distribute the vaccines throughout

n and Africa.

Vaccine Exports

is the first country in

to locally manufacture any covid vaccine. The vaccines are to be reserved for purchased exclusively to Africa. South Africa is currently manufacturing 220 000 million doses of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine in

. Pfizer-BioNTech production is expected to begin in

end of 2021. If the ImmunityBio vaccine makes it through the trials, manufacturing will commence locally.

Export Consignments

Timeline

On 11 July 2021, President

addressed the nation and announced that

will be delivering 17 million doses of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine to members of the

over the next 3 months. On 26 July 2021, the first batch of 1.5 million doses of the Janssen vaccine were cleared for release at

Aspens Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, ...

Facility in

. The vaccines were transported from

Port Elizabeth Airport Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport is an airport serving Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), a city in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. It was formerly known as H. F. Verwoerd Airport and Port Elizabeth International Airport. The air ...

to O. R. Tambo International Airport in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

via Star Air Cargo at 21:39 (

SAST South African Standard Time (SAST) is the time zone used by all of South Africa as well as Eswatini and Lesotho. The zone is two hours ahead of UTC ( UTC+02:00) and is the same as Central Africa Time. Daylight saving time is not observed in e ...

). The vaccines are then expected to be transported to a facility in

Midrand Midrand is a former municipality in central Gauteng, South Africa. It is situated in-between Centurion and Sandton and now forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. History Midrand was established as a municipality in 198 ...

for testing and distribution in the days to come. On 16 August 2021, the New York Times released a report stating that around 32 million vaccines finished at the

Facility had been exported to countries in Europe. They further claimed that in the agreement to order doses, the South African Government had waived its right to ban exports and had paid more than the European commission per dose. On 17 August 2021, the Health Justice Initiative filed a request under South Africa's Promotion of Access to Information Act to get access to the contracts between

and the South African government, prompted by the New York Times report. On 2 September 2021, the AU coronavirus envoy stated that vaccine shipments from

Facility to Europe had been suspended and 20 million doses already sent to Europe would be returned for distribution across Africa.

Statistics

National

The most up to date vaccination statistics can be found o
SACoronavirus site.

Cumulative vaccinations in South Africa

Graph of cumulative doses administered across the country

Provincial

Daily Covid-19 vaccination in South Africa

Progress By Province

Daily vaccinations chart of South Africa

2021 Civil Unrest

During the

, the vaccine rollout encountered a slowdown as businesses and vaccine sites were shut down due to protests and looting in

and

. It is estimated that 47 500 vaccine doses and 120 private pharmacies were destroyed during the unrest.

Distribution

Doses administration by vaccine type in South Africa

Graph of cumulative doses administered by vaccine type as of 15 June 2021

Vaccines distribution

Vaccination sites

The

COVID-19 Vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

can be obtained at 1397 different locations nationwide, as of 28 August. Any person qualified for a vaccine will be allocated to the most appropriate site, regardless if it is private or public or if they are insured or not. Vaccination sites are expected to increase to 3,338 locations, as Phase II and Phase III progress ramps up. So far it is planned that all Clicks,

Dis-Chem Dis-Chem is the second largest retail pharmacy chain in South Africa, with 165 stores, plus 4 in Namibia and 1 in Botswana. The chain had a total revenue of 21.4 billion South African rand in 2019. Dis-Chem has private label products, sells via th ...

, and other

pharmacies Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

and

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

s nationwide be used to distribute vaccines.

Planned vaccination sites

Active Sites

A list of active sites can be found on th
SACoronavirus site

Notes

References

External links

Vaccine Enrollment Platform
{{COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, short=yes

Vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

2020 in South Africa 2021 in South Africa

Background

Rollout strategy

Registration

Vaccines on order

Vaccine Consignments

Johnson & Johnson consignment (Phase III/Sisonke Protocol)

Johnson & Johnson Consignment (Section 21/EUA Approval)

Oxford-AstraZeneca Consignment

Pfizer-BioNTech Consignment

CoronaVac Consignment

Donations

COVAX

Covax Consignment

History

Timeline

February 2021

March 2021

April 2021

May 2021

June 2021

July 2021

August 2021

September 2021

October 2021

November 2021

December 2021

January 2022

February 2022

March 2022

Vaccine Trials

Janssen

Pfizer–BioNTech

Oxford–AstraZeneca

Novavax

GRAd-COV2

ImmunityBio

Vaccine Effectiveness

Janssen

Oxford–AstraZeneca

Sputnik V

Pfizer–BioNTech

Moderna

Sinopharm BIBP

CoronaVac

Covaxin

CoviVac

EpiVacCorona

Zifivax

Novavax

ImmunityBio

Vaccine Exports

Export Consignments

Timeline

Statistics

National

Cumulative vaccinations in South Africa

Provincial

Progress By Province

Daily vaccinations chart of South Africa

2021 Civil Unrest

Distribution

Doses administration by vaccine type in South Africa

Vaccines distribution

Vaccination sites

Planned vaccination sites

Active Sites

See also

Notes

References

External links