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* South Africa worst affected country in Africa
* Fights more contagious virus variant
* AstraZeneca vaccine doses coming from India
(Adds ministry presentation, union reaction)
By Alexander Winning
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 27 (Reuters) - South Africa expects the
flight carrying its first 1 million coronavirus vaccine doses to
arrive on Feb. 1, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on
Wednesday, boosting efforts to curb a second wave of COVID-19
driven by a more contagious variant.
The AstraZeneca shots, produced by the Serum
Institute of India (SII), are destined for sorely stretched
healthcare workers.
South Africa has recorded the most coronavirus infections
and deaths on the African continent, at more than 1.4 million
cases and over 41,000 deaths to date. Since late last year, it
has been battling a more transmissible virus variant called
501Y.V2.
Mkhize said that after the 1 million doses arrive at the OR
Tambo international airport in Johannesburg they would be
subject to technical processes including quality assurance over
10 to 14 days.
They can then be distributed to all provinces, he added
during a public webinar. South Africa is due to receive a
further 500,000 doses from the SII in February, also for its
health workers.
Trade union NEHAWU said more doses needed to be secured
since the 1.5 million coming from the SII would only cover
750,000 health workers, as AstraZeneca's vaccine was
administered in two doses.
South Africa later stands to receive around 12 million doses
from the COVAX vaccine distribution scheme co-led by the World
Health Organization, another 12 million from an African Union
arrangement, and 9 million from Johnson & Johnson.
Mkhize spoke as South Africa's main opposition party, the
Democratic Alliance, began court action to force the government
to release details of its vaccination plans.
Some scientists and health workers have publicly criticised
the government for not securing doses sooner or outlining
detailed immunisation plans.
A health ministry presentation showed there were around 1.25
million health workers to be vaccinated, of which around 350,000
had insurance.
Vaccines would be delivered free at the point of service.
Medical schemes, funds that pool health insurance premiums,
would pay for those with insurance, with the government paying
for the uninsured.
Medicines regulator SAHPRA said earlier on Wednesday it had
given fast-track approval to AstraZeneca's vaccine for emergency
use and that it was reviewing data on the shots of rival
manufacturers Pfizer and J&J.
According to a National Treasury estimate, it could cost 20
billion to 24 billion rand ($1.3 billion to $1.6 billion) to
vaccinate the government's target of around 40 million people,
or two-thirds of the population.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; additional reporting by
Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Barbara Lewis, Mark Heinrich and
Grant McCool)
