Johnson & Johnson became the first company to apply for COVID-19 vaccine registration in South Africa. Another four vaccine candidates are being evaluated for distribution across the country.
On Monday, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) provided updates on measures in place guiding the safe and effective rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the country
“We received one application, this was received on Thursday evening from J&J and we’ve started the review process,” AHPRA Chief Executive Officer Boitumelo Semete told EWN.
He added that other pharmaceutical companies are in discussions to be registered as candidates.
“We’ve had pre-submissions discussions with them where we advised them on what the data is that we would require as a regulator. So, we really hope that this process that we have outlined and published on our website gives the industry sufficient information in terms of what is expected.”
The primary issue to Semete, however, is that South Africans feel assured that they will be provided with vaccines that are safe and effective, so that there’s no civil resistance to the roll-out process.
“It’s important that all of us as regulators really give our citizens the comfort and the confidence that whatever product that enters the market will be a quality product,” he concluded.
The first COVID-19 vaccinations were administered in the United Kingdom last week and White House staff close to Donald Trump look like they will be among the first in line to receive the Pfizer vaccine in the United States. It is expected that the first COVID-19 vaccine will be administered in South Africa halfway through next year.
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