SA regulators approve use of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine

By S’thembile Cele and Janice Kew

(Bloomberg) – South African regulators approved the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE for local use, a boost to a national roll out that’s going slower than initially planned.

The decision is conditional on the outcome of tests to check the shot’s efficacy against a variant identified in the country late last year, according to a Tuesday statement by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority.

The government has ordered 20 million Pfizer vaccines, though they had yet to be delivered as of earlier this month. A shortage means the country is likely to miss its target of inoculating as many as 1.5 million people by April, Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla has said. 

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