A second Covid-19 vaccine showing great promise is under trial in South Africa. Novavax says its vaccine could begin the final stage of testing by September. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is giving about R250m to help support its roll out in SA.
Dr Shabir Madhi, a vaccinology professor at University of the Witwatersrand, who will lead the study, shared the details of Novavax’s Phase 2 study with BizNews founder Alec Hogg. He says South Africans will have early access to the vaccine if it proves effective.
Wits is also collaborating with the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute on another Covid-19 vaccine being tested worldwide. And, a third vaccine might be put into trials in South Africa later this year, Dr Madhi tells Hogg.
Listen to this uplifting, and fascinating, interview, on BizNews Radio. You can also read the full interview transcript and global coverage of the hunt in SA for a Covid-19 vaccine, on BizNews Premium.
The Novavax announcement is another development that highlights the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic may well be over for SA. President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the weekend that, of the 600,000 cases of Covid-19 reported in the country, only 105,000 remain active – and the country appears to be past the peak.
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