South Africa eyes up Sputnik vaccine

South African authorities have been working to assess the Russian Sputnik V vaccine this week, reports TASS, citing Bloomberg. The countries health experts and regulators are considering the possibility of using the Russian vaccine for mass vaccination in the republic.

The South African Health Minister, Zvelini Mkize, previously stated that the country is interested in using the Russian vaccine, but additional verification was needed.

South African authorities are primarily concerned about the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines for people living with HIV. At the moment, more than 7.5 million people with HIV call South Africa home.

In addition, the country is one of the leaders among African states in terms of the number of cases of new coronavirus infection. More than 1.5 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the country.

Mass vaccination in the republic started last week. The authorities are negotiating the purchase of vaccines produced by Pfizer / BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson, and intend to vaccinate more than 1 million people by the end of March.