(Bloomberg) -- South Africa expects the Food & Drug Administration to clear the release of Johnson & Johnson vaccines later this week after a contamination incident at a U.S. plant, clearing the way for the country to ramp up its inoculation plan.
“We expect that this Friday the FDA will make an announcement and we will get our J&J vaccines soon,” Health Department Director-General Sandile Buthelezi said at the Black Business Council summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
South Africa has ordered just over 30 million of the single-dose J&J shot, enough to cover about half the population. Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd., the country's biggest drugmaker, has a contract to fill and package the vaccine at a local plant.
Read More: Tens of Millions of J&J Doses Sit on Shelves, Await FDA Nod
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