J&J Covid19 Vaccine Rollout Suspended in SA, No Blood Clots Reported
- Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize recently spoke about the suspension of the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine
- Mkhize stated that blood clots formed in six people who were inoculated in the US and the country temporarily suspended the vaccine
- Although there have been no reported blood clots in the health care workers who received the vaccine Mkhize suspended the rollout
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Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize revealed that the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine rollout will be voluntarily suspended in South Africa. This follows news of six women in the United States developing 'unusual' blood clots.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US temporarily suspended the vaccine rollout within the country due to the blood clots found. Reports say that the incidents surfaced between six and 13 days after the women received the vaccination.
The ladies were aged between 18 and 48 years old. That being said, there have been over 6.6 million US citizens who have received the J&J Covid-19 vaccine.
Source: Getty Images
According to Mkhize's statement, delivered on Tuesday evening, he held consultations with SA scientists who advised to not take the FDA's decision to suspend the vaccine rollout lightly. This is why SA voluntarily suspended the use of the vaccine until the relationship between the clots and the J&J vaccine have been interrogated.
Mkhize also revealed that out of the over 280 000 South African health care workers who have received the J&J vaccine there have been no reports of any blood clots formed post-vaccination.
In other vaccine-related news, Briefly News recently reported that the second phase of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in SA is expected to start on 17 May. Dr Mkhize confirmed that the country has secured 51 million doses of the expected 42 million.
Mkhize spoke to the media to confirm that 17 May is the end of the Phase 1 vaccination programme.
Dr Mkhize reiterated that protecting health workers against Covid-19 is essential and promised that the government will continue to prioritise them, confirming that all essential workers will be vaccinated first before the mass rollout begins.
According to BusinessTech, Dr Zweli Mkhize stated that the government is persistently working to obtain more vaccinations in order to make sure that those unaccounted for or undocumented are also able to be vaccinated
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Source: Briefly News
