LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - There is no evidence that the
Astrazeneca vaccine does not prevent death or serious
illness, and South Africa has only imposed a temporary halt on
using the vaccine, a British junior health minister said on
Monday.
South Africa will put on hold use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19
shot in its vaccination programme after data showed it gave
minimal protection against mild-to-moderate infection caused by
the country's dominant coronavirus variant.
"There is no evidence that this vaccine is not effective in
preventing hospitalisation and severe illness and death, which
ultimately is what we're seeking with these vaccines today,"
Britain's Edward Argar told Sky.
"The dominant strains in this country are not the South
African strain, there are a small number of cases of that, the
dominant strains here are the historic one we've had, and then
the Kent variant, against which this vaccine is highly
effective."
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton; editing by
Michael Holden)