First Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines arrive in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG - The first batch of the Pfizer vaccines arrived at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport at midnight Sunday, said South Africa's Health Minister Zweli Mkhize Monday in a social media post.

The two-shot vaccine, with 325,260 doses, requires to be stored in super cold storage. Samples are expected to be sent to the National Control Laboratory this morning for quality assurance before the vaccines will be distributed to each province.

Mkhize said the same number of doses are scheduled to arrive on a weekly basis, so that by the end of May, South Africa would have receive 1.3 million doses from Pfizer.

Regarding to other vaccines, Mkhize said that the Johnson and Johnson would be released from a factory in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, in mid-May following a safety verification process.

Mkhize also said the vaccination of healthcare workers with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine would continue after it resumed last week.

More than 318,000 healthcare workers have been vaccinated as part of the mass rollout plan.