The Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto says they are still awaiting the go-ahead from the Department of Health to commence with the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
On Tuesday, 80 000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine arrived in the country.
It is set to be administered to frontline healthcare workers from Wednesday.
Professor Glenda Gray, CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, says the vaccines were transported throughout various provinces, with the Soweto hospital also receiving its first batch.
“The first shipment went out at 03:45 in the morning and Baragwanath hospital received its vaccine at 05:00 in the morning and they are busy deciding how to do the first day of vaccination.
“We expect them to start vaccinating from 12:00 noon onwards. It is quiet because people are nervous, and they had to learn all the processes on the new vaccine. So, I think Bara wants to take it easy today (Wednesday),” she says.
South Africa is the first nation to administer the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. This vaccine has been proven to have a 57% efficacy rate against the 501Y.V2 variant most prevalent in SA.
The delivery date had been pushed forward after trial data showed that the AstraZeneca vaccines were not efficacious against the 501Y.V2 variant.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been approved by the South African Health Products Authority.
