Last checked at 
* S.Africa had planned to begin with AstraZeneca jabs
* Switched after trial showed reduced efficacy vs virus
variant
* Official says J&J offered to speed up deliveries
* Gov't factsheet says inoculations to begin mid-February
(Adds factsheet, Madhi, Abdool Karim, Russia talks)
By Alexander Winning
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 8 (Reuters) - South Africa will start its
immunisation campaign with Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19
vaccine after data showed AstraZeneca's shot offered
minimal protection against mild-to-moderate illness from the
dominant local virus variant.
The country, which has recorded the most coronavirus
infections in Africa and more than 46,000 deaths, had planned to
start offering healthcare workers the AstraZeneca jabs soon but
put that plan on hold on Sunday.
A government factsheet published on Monday said the J&J
vaccine would be offered from mid-February. A senior health
official said J&J had agreed to speed up deliveries so the first
doses would become available around the end of the week.
"Our vaccine rollout plan has not changed, except that we
will begin with the Johnson & Johnson instead of the AstraZeneca
vaccine," the factsheet said.
J&J said it was in advanced discussions with South Africa
about "potential additional collaborations" to combat COVID-19.
"We hope to be able to share more details in the coming days,"
it said.
Preliminary trial data showing the AstraZeneca shot does not
significantly reduce the risk of mild-to-moderate illness caused
by the more contagious 501Y.V2 variant first identified late
last year was a disappointment not just to South Africa, but to
the continent as a whole.
The 501Y.V2 variant is believed to have spread to nine other
African countries, according to a World Health Organization
(WHO) epidemiological report last week.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is seen as one of the best suited to
weak African health systems as it can be stored at refrigerator
temperatures, rather than the ultra-cold temperatures needed for
shots from Pfizer/BioNTech .
Global vaccine distribution scheme COVAX plans to start
sending millions of AstraZeneca doses to African countries this
month.
GLOBAL ROLE
The trial by researchers at the University of the
Witwatersrand in Johannesburg did not assess whether the
AstraZeneca vaccine protected against severe COVID-19.
Shabir Madhi, the trial's lead investigator, told Reuters
the AstraZeneca vaccine still had a major role to play in Africa
and globally, and that it probably protected against severe
cases.
The government is holding talks with scientists on how to
proceed.
Malawi's information minister said the country would move
ahead with the vaccine when it becomes available, unless the
501Y.V2 variant became dominant there.
A Ugandan health ministry spokesman said the government
would seek guidance from the WHO, and a Nigerian health official
said the country would stick to plans to use the AstraZeneca
shot.
Professor Salim Abdool Karim, an adviser to the South Africa
government, said the AstraZeneca vaccine would in future be
rolled out in a "stepped manner" to assess its ability to
prevent severe illness.
AstraZeneca, which developed the vaccine with Oxford
University, says it has already started adapting it against the
501Y.V2 variant.
South African health ministry Deputy Director-General Anban
Pillay told state broadcaster SABC that the J&J vaccine was a
good fit. Trials had shown it was highly effective in preventing
hospitalisation and death, and it can also be stored at fridge
temperatures, he said.
Regulator SAHPRA has not yet authorised J&J's vaccine but
has been conducting a rolling review since late last year.
A source at the Russia Direct Investment Fund said talks
were being held with South Africa over vaccine supplies but
declined to elaborate.
(Additional reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo in
Johannesburg, Elias Biryabarema in Kampala and Frank Phiri in
Blantyre, Felix Onuah in Abuja and Libby George in Lagos, and
Polina Nikolskaya in Moscow
Editing by Susan Fenton, Nick Macfie and Sonya Hepinstall)
