Johnson & Johnson\u2019s coronavirus vaccine has been approved by South African regulators for general use days after President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country will get more than 30 million doses.<\/p>\n
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has backed the single-shot candidate with conditions, spokesman Yuven Gounden said by phone on Thursday, without giving further detail.<\/p>\n
The US drug maker\u2019s vaccine has so far only been used in the country to inoculate health workers, and its approval is a boost to a national roll out that\u2019s been hit by a series of delays.<\/p>\n
The regulator last month approved the shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, though AstraZeneca\u2019s has been spurned due to concern over its limited efficacy against a variant identified in the country late last year.<\/p>\n
J&J agreed earlier this week to supply as many as 400 million doses to the African Union through the end of next year.<\/p>\n
The vaccine is seen as beneficial for Africa as in addition to being a single dose it can also be distributed at regular fridge temperatures, as opposed to the super-cold requirements vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna.<\/p>\n