ASPEN to produce its own brand using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
South Africa has identified 4 373 new COVID-19 cases, which brings the total number of infections to 2 968 052.
This increase represents a 10.2% positivity rate. A further 21 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89 843 to date.
Aspen Pharmacare has made news headlines, announcing a deal to produce its own brand using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
CEO Stephen Saad said that this would be a major boost for Africa.
“It’s a massive breakthrough for Africa given that on the continent we import 99% of our vaccines,” Saad said.
When asked what Discovery was doing, chief executive Adrian Gore said that they had been making sure that staff were vaccinated, with good results.
“We’ve entered the fourth wave which is obviously very worrying but we have 95% [of staff] vaccinated, which is very important,” Gore said.
However, Netcare CEO, Dr Richard Friedland, said that they were concerned that despite the vaccinations, some people would still be infected.
“People who are vaccinated, either with the single or double booster, are still getting infected,” Friedland noted.
All agree that the next few weeks would reveal the severity of the new variant.
