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* J&J shot rolled out for first time outside major trial
* AstraZeneca vaccinations put on hold earlier this month
* Nurse, doctor, clerk among first to get shots
* President, health minister also vaccinated
* South Africa records most cases, deaths on continent
(Updates throughout after first shots administered)
By Wendell Roelf and Alexander Winning
CAPE TOWN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - South Africa launched its
COVID-19 vaccination drive on Wednesday, battling to tame a more
infectious variant of the coronavirus with a roll-out of the
Johnson & Johnson shot for the first time outside a
clinical trial.
Authorities in South Africa have recorded almost half of the
COVID-19 deaths in all of Africa and over a third of confirmed
infections on the continent, but has lagged wealthier Western
nations in launching mass immunisation programmes.
The government plans to vaccinate 40 million people, or
two-thirds of the population in Africa's most industrialised
economy, to achieve some level of herd immunity.
"The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been shown in extensive
trials to be safe and efficacious and will protect our health
care workers from illness and death from COVID-19," President
Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement.
The J&J shot is being deployed for the first time outside of
a major clinical trial as part of a research study targeting up
to 500,000 healthcare workers. J&J has been
submitting data to South African medicines regulator SAHPRA to
secure registration for a larger-scale roll-out.
Nurse Zoliswa Gidi-Dyosi was the first to be vaccinated at
Khayelitsha District Hospital in Cape Town, followed by a
doctor, a member of the hospital's housekeeping staff and an
administrative clerk, the government said.
Ramaphosa and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize were vaccinated
soon afterward.
South Africa is one of the first nations on the continent,
along with Rwanda, Morocco and Egypt, to vaccinate against
COVID-19.
ASTRAZENECA SHOT SHELVED
Ramaphosa's government has been under pressure to get the
first shots in arms quickly after pausing the roll-out of
AstraZeneca's vaccine earlier this month.
The decision to suspend use of the AstraZeneca jab came
after preliminary trial data indicated that it offered minimal
protection against mild to moderate illness from the 501Y.V2
variant dominant in the country. The suspension has deepened
scepticism among some South Africans about COVID-19 vaccines.
Ramaphosa said earlier on Wednesday 80,000 J&J doses were
being prepared for distribution across the country and that he
would get inoculated on the first day of the programme to
demonstrate his government's confidence in the J&J vaccine.
He said most vaccination centres would be ready to begin
immunisations on Wednesday.
The 501Y.V2 virus variant, first identified by South African
genomics scientists late last year, has alarmed health experts
for its ability to potentially evade the immune response
generated by prior exposure to the coronavirus or vaccines.
The government has said it could sell or swap its
AstraZeneca doses for shots of another vaccine.
AstraZeneca says it believes its vaccine protects against
severe COVID-19 and that it has started adapting it against the
501Y.V2 variant.
(Reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town and Alexander Winning
in Johannesburg
Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Christian Schmollinger and
Mark Heinrich)
