South Africa will roll out the continent's first coronavirus vaccine trial this week, the university leading the pilot said Tuesday, as the country grapples with the highest number of cases in Africa.
Brazil is planning its own pilot, while the United States is preparing to test another vaccine in a mass trial of up to 30,000 participants. Officials implemented a strict nationwide lockdown on March 27, just weeks after the virus first hit South Africa. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize echoed Madhi's concerns, warning that South Africa was going through a"devastating storm" expected to peak"during the cold winter months".At the opening of a field hospital in the Eastern Cape province, Mkhize said there were now more than 27,000 beds for COVID-19 patients and over 400 quarantine sites across the country.
The first phase of this temporary facility was set up a disused VW plant in the southern city of Port Elizabeth, which can now accomodate 1,485 patients.