A Pharmaceutical expert and former President of the Pharmaceutical Association of Zambia Jerome Kanyika has disclosed that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are better suitable than the Johnson and Johnson vaccine that has been ordered for the Zambian public.
Kanyika revealed that government should have procured the Johnson and Johnson vaccine during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic as studies and empirical data have shown that the vaccine has responded well to the South African variant.
The Zambian Government announced that it has mobilized resources to procure 4.4 million doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine which is expected in the country in September,2021. The ministry of health further announced that about 108,000 AstraZeneca covid vaccine doses are expected this July, 120,000 doses expected in August and 100,000 doses of Sinopharm also expected by July 2021.
Kanyika said the country is supposed to be discussing acquiring more Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for the Indian delta Covid virus that the country is currently experiencing as its effectiveness has been seen from the western world and from the third wave of the virus, it is clear that the Pfizer vaccine is working well.
He said the third wave being propagated by the Indian variant virus, which is called the delta variant virus, is responding well to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, noting that the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is to some extent working well.
He further said the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which is manufactured, by the Johnson and Johnson pharmaceutical company is being used by South Africa, which was hit by its own variant and has proved to perform well.
Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Kanyika who is also former Pharmaceutical Society of Zambia (PSZ) President said there is need to acquire vaccines that have been studied extensively like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines where studies on their developments are coming out almost on a weekly basis unlike vaccines being condemned by developed countries.
He said the Johnson and Johnson vaccine has known risks of blood clotting with people reported dead adding that other countries have stopped using it. He however noted that Johnson and Johnson is more convenient as it only requires one dose instead of two but studies have not yet shown how effective it is and most countries have suspended its use.
“The second wave was about the South African variant virus which was responding well to the Johnson and Johnson vaccine and some patients are still testing positive for the SA variant virus, no wonder we need the Johnson and Johnson vaccine”, he said.
Kanyika has expressed concern over the pace at which government is handling the issues to do with vaccinations as most of the countries that have vaccinated most of their populations now have relaxed COVID restrictions.
“We have seen people watching football in their stadiums, we have seen their countries going back to their normal businesses but here we are taking our time for us to respond to this pandemic”, he said. He mentioned that all vaccines under Covax are subsidized, affordable and easy to procure, and that is what most developing countries are relying on.
