Vials labelled"COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine" and sryinge are seen in front of displayed Johnson&Johnson logo in this illustration taken on Feb 9, 2021. CAPE TOWN: South Africa's joint lead investigator for the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine trial said on Tuesday that a government regulator was processing an application for the vaccine to be granted emergency use authorisation.
South Africa had given fast-track approval to AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use last month and had said it was reviewing applications by Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. "So what we are discussing is whether, under regulatory authorisation, we can use this vaccine rapidly in health care workers in South Africa as a single shot," she said, adding that the vaccine is safe and has shown to work on the South African variant of the novel coronavirus.