NATIONAL NEWS - Sahpra, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, says the regulatory process involved in the authorisation for Covishield, the Covid-19 vaccine expected to arrive in the country by 1 February, involved a "thorough and rigorous" review of the data submitted.

It is to ensure that people being vaccinated will receive "safe, efficacious and quality-assured" vaccines.

The regulator on 22 January granted authorisation for Covishield, which is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and was manufactured in the UK by the Oxford University in collaboration with AstraZeneca. The first batch on its way to South Africa contains 1 million doses.

The regulator is currently reviewing applications for registration of the Janssen and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines. Discussions have been held with a few other manufacturers that were able to share the readiness of data for submission.

Sahpra says all applications for Covid-19-related health products, including vaccines, will be prioritised.

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