Will SA be affected by the vaccine recall in Europe?

South Africa will not be affected by a recent major recall of 764,900 doses of Covid-19 vaccines in Europe.

The vaccines made by Moderna Inc are not administered at SA vaccination sites.

Last week the company said one vial in a batch distributed in Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden earlier this year was found to contain “a foreign body”. The vial was punctured and was not used. 

No safety issues have been identified, but the company has instituted a recall “out of an abundance of caution”. 

It said it did not believe the compromised vial had contaminated other vials in the batch.

The company had to recall batches of its vaccine in Japan late last year after reports from vaccination sites about a potential foreign substance found in vials. An investigation found the stainless steel particles most probably came from “friction between two pieces of metal installed in the stoppering module of the production line due to an incorrect set-up”.

More than 900-million doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine have been administered around the world. It is not administered in SA .

It will, however, be given as a booster to some SA health workers later this month as part of a vaccine trial to see its efficacy in comparison to the Pfizer boosters.

The trial will involve half a million people and will be offered to 10,000 health workers who have previously received one or two shots of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

There is little chance of a vaccine shortage in SA amid the recall as health authorities have stressed the country has enough vaccines for its population.