(Adds detail, context)
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 16 (Reuters) - South Africa's health
ministry said on Tuesday that the manufacturers of Russia's
Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine had submitted documentation to local
medicines regulator SAHPRA for registration.
The ministry said it was "continuously engaging" with the
manufacturers of the Sputnik V vaccine.
It added that scientists were conducting detailed analyses
on the vaccine, following concerns about the effects of its Ad5
component on communities with a high prevalence of HIV.
South Africa has one of the highest HIV burdens globally.
The country hopes to start rolling out Johnson & Johnson's
COVID-19 vaccine to health workers in a research study
this week.
It has paused the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine
because of preliminary data which showed it offered minimal
protection against mild to moderate illness from the country's
dominant coronavirus variant, 501Y.V2.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; editing by Mfuneko Toyana)