(Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use after previously blocking it, as the southern African nation struggles to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases.
The use of the drug is valid for 12 months or when the public health emergency ends, Richard Rukwata, acting director for the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“If additional satisfactory data needed for full registration are submitted in an application to the authority, then full marketing authorization could be granted,” he said.
The government in June asked the African Export-Import Bank to delay the shipment of Johnson & Johnson doses because of concerns about blood clots and its inability to keep the shots at the correct temperature.
Zimbabwe already authorized the use of Covaxin, Sinopharm, Sinovac and Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines. It has recorded 101,711 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 3,280 related deaths, according to the Ministry of Health. The daily death rate hit a record this week as cases surge.
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