South Africa’s Covid vaccination program has been delayed after the authorities decided to reject 2 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines. In a statement they said that the batch was contaminated. This is a major step back to the doses which have been given to 1% of its 60 million people.
According to sources, the vaccines were found unsuitable for use by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) due to possible contamination of their ingredients at a Baltimore plant.The production of the J&J vaccine at South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare manufacturing plant using large batches of the basic ingredients supplied by Johnson & Johnson. The South African plant then blends those components and puts them in vials – a process known as “fill and finish.”
South Africa will now only receive 300,000 doses of the J&J vaccine which have been cleared by the FDA.
Data source: Africa news
