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The minister said the estimated monetary value of vaccines to be written off was R3. 8 billion, which was made up of R2 501 583 564 of Janssen vaccine and R 1 328 606 043 of the Pfizer vaccine.
Last week South Africa’s Competition Commission confirmed that it is investigating J&J for excessive pricing of a tuberculosis (TB) medicine, bedaquiline.
The non-profit organisation Health Justice Initiative has released Covid-19 vaccination contracts, which show how the South African government was bullied by global pharmaceuticals and made to pay over the odds compared to wealthier countries like the United Kingdom for vaccines.
The court decision gives the government 10 days to disclose Covid-19 vaccine negotiation contracts, meeting notes, and correspondence with any vaccine manufacturer or licensee, including with Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Aspen Pharmacare, Sinovac, and the Serum Institute of India.
It is one of the first cases in the world where civil society is forcing a government to reveal the details of Covid-19 vaccine contracts made during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, SA hurried to secure millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines as it aimed to cover at least 70% of the population. Now, millions of doses are at risk of being discarded.
Researchers examined the effectiveness of a second Johnson & Johnson dose, in more than 240 000 Sisonke study health-care workers.
The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) spokesperson Yuven Gounden said TTS is a very rare, new and specific syndrome reported with Covid-19 vaccines.
As COVID more variants emerge, the department says that laboratory research has shown that protection against COVID-19 infection is related to antibody levels. Further, they added that booster vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) or Pfizer vaccine is a reliable and safe way of increasing antibody levels.
The National Health Department announced that the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) boosters will now be made available for all eligible individuals as of today.
As the caseload of Covid-19 positive children continues to grow during the fourth wave, questions are being asked about why they appear more susceptible to Omicron, and whether vaccinations should open to those younger than 12.
The US authorised the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccine boosters to all people aged 18 and older on Friday.
The FDA has authorised the use of a booster dose for Covid-19 vaccines, and Americans can now choose to receive a different booster vaccine than their original inoculation.
The South African Product Health Regulatory Authority (Saphra) on Friday approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for the children but experts said the focus should be on the older population rather than children.
As of Saturday, the province had administered 1 745 719 first and second doses, in the public and private sector
Pharmaceutical company Aspen confirmed that the first supplies of the J&J Covid-19 vaccines to South Africa, from the new API source located in Europe, were released to J&J from its flagship Gqeberha-based manufacturing site on Monday