CAPE TOWN, Feb 17 (Reuters) – South Africa will administer its first Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine shot on Wednesday at Khayelitsha District Hospital in Cape Town, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said.

The J&J shot will be rolled out to healthcare workers as part of a research study.

South Africa paused the rollout of AstraZeneca doses this month, after preliminary trial data showed they offered minimal protection against mild to moderate illness from the country’s dominant coronavirus variant. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf Writing by Alexander Winning Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions – https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html