South Africa recalls 2 million coronavirus vaccines due to manufacturing defects

US officials said last week that “several batches” – equivalent to several million doses – manufactured in the country should be discarded.

Tests carried out revealed that components of the British vaccine AstraZeneca, produced at the same location, were mistakenly mixed with the J&J formula.

The South African Minister of Health, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, who recognized a setback in the vaccination program, said yesterday that the affected lots are stored in a laboratory in Port Elizabeth.

South Africa, with a population of 59 million, has delivered 31 million units of this single-dose immunizing agent.

The country has also obtained 30 million injectables from Pfizer, which require two doses and must be stored at extremely low temperatures.

The government has already temporarily suspended administration of the J&J vaccine in April, after a few cases of blood clots were detected in the United States.

In February, South African authorities also waived more than 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca, questioning its effectiveness against the local variant of the virus.

South Africa is the African country hardest hit by the pandemic with nearly 58,000 deaths from more than 1.7 million infections.

Currently, just over 1% of its population is vaccinated.