S. Africa weighs testing-phase shots for medics

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa is considering giving a covid-19 vaccine that is still in the testing phase to health workers, after suspending the rollout of another shot that pre- liminary data indicated may be only minimally effective against the mutated form of the virus dominating the country.

The country was scrambling Monday to come up with a new vaccination strat- egy after it halted use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Among the possibilities being considered: mixing the AstraZeneca vaccine with another one or giving Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine to 100,000 health care workers.

There is reason to hope the Johnson & Johnson vaccine may fare better in the country. Initial results from an international test of the vaccine showed it is 57% effective in South Africa at preventing moderate to severe covid-19. That was less than in other countries — the rate was 72% in the U.S., for example — presumably because of the worrisome variant. It was even more effective — 85% internationally — at preventing the most serious symptoms.

“We can’t wait. We already have good local data,” said Dr. Glenda Gray, director of the South Africa Medical Research Council, who led the South African part of the global trial. She stressed that clinical trials show that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe. Like AstraZeneca’s, it is also easier to handle than the frozen vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

South Africa’s inoculation strategy is being watched globally because the variant is spreading in more than 30 countries. Officials say this form of the virus is more contagious, and recent studies have shown it can infect people who have survived the original form of the virus.

After a second surge, cases and deaths in South Africa have begun to fall recently, but it is still battling one of Africa’s most severe outbreaks, with more than 46,000 deaths. It is worried that another spike will come in May or June, when the country heads into winter.

“Our scientists must get together and quickly figure out what approach we’re going to use,” Health Minister Zweli Mhkize said Sunday night, announcing the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is currently the only one available in South Africa.

The suspension threw South Africa’s vaccination plans into disarray just one week after the country received its first 1 million doses of the vaccine. The suspension was made after the early results of a small clinical trial showed that the shot offered only minimal protection against mild to moderate cases of covid-19 in young adults, according to an announcement by the University of Witwatersrand.

However, experts say the vaccine may still prevent severe disease.

“Vaccines that are effective against the more severe forms of disease may not affect milder forms, so there is optimism that severe disease will still be prevented by vaccines,” said Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London.

But the results were disappointing enough that South African officials decided to postpone the vaccine rollout, which front-line health care workers were supposed to receive starting in mid-February.