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* S.Africa groups vaccines in order of preference
* J&J, Pfizer, Moderna in first category
* More data needed on Russian, Chinese vaccines
* AstraZeneca, Novavax may not be suitable initially
* Country hardest-hit by pandemic on continent
(Adds detail, context, quote)
By Alexander Winning
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 23 (Reuters) - South Africa's health
minister said on Tuesday that government advisers had organised
COVID-19 vaccines into three groups and those considered for
"immediate use" were the Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Pfizer
and Moderna shots.
The country started rolling out the J&J vaccine in a
research study targeting healthcare workers last week and hopes
to receive Pfizer doses in the coming months.
It has paused AstraZeneca vaccinations because of a
small trial showing the British company's shot offered minimal
protection against mild to moderate illness caused by the
dominant local coronavirus variant.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the government had placed
"huge orders on J&J and Pfizer which will be finalised in the
next few days and announced when concluded", adding that
discussions with Moderna were ongoing.
Mkhize said the Ministerial Advisory Committee on vaccines
had placed Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and alternatives from
China's Sinopharm and Sinovac in a second group where South
Africa is interested but requires more technical information.
Non-disclosure agreements had been signed with manufacturers
of vaccines in the second group and negotiations were advanced,
he added, saying: "They have offered several millions of
vaccines subject to the finalisation of the outstanding
information and price negotiation."
A third group where vaccines "may not be suitable for
immediate use in South Africa" includes the AstraZeneca and
Novavax vaccines.
South Africa has recorded almost half of the COVID-19 deaths
and over a third of confirmed infections in all of Africa, but
has lagged wealthier nations in its immunisation drive.
The government plans to vaccinate 40 million people, or
two-thirds of the population.
Mkhize said the next batch of 80,000 J&J doses for the
research study would arrive on Saturday.
The health and finance ministries had agreed on a mechanism
that would compensate any citizen who might suffer an adverse
effect from the J&J or Pfizer vaccines, he added.
Mkhize said South Africa would be selling, not donating, its
stock of AstraZeneca shots to the African Union.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning
Editing by Promit Mukherjee, Alison Williams and Nick Macfie)
