A top South African health official revealed on Friday that the South African government is currently in talks with the African Union (AU) over the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines for 10 million people.
Before deciding to halt the rollout of its AstraZeneca shots, the South African government had previously entered into a deal with the African Union for an order of 12 million vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca.
Up until that point, the country had administered 90,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in what is part of a research project focused on healthcare workers.
Sandile Buthelezi, Department of Health director and general, did not divulge any information regarding which vaccine providers South Africa would be targeting during its latest round of negotiations.
He did, however, reveal plans to enter into an agreement with the AU, Afreximbank, and the Serum Institute of India to sell its unused AstraZeneca doses that arrived in the country last month to another 18 African countries.
Currently, South Africa has reported the most COVID-19 infections and deaths on the African continent, with cases skyrocketing in what was a severe second wave following the emergence of a more contagious variant of the disease.
