South Africa suspends use of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine

South Africa has suspended the rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to healthcare staff after a study suggested it was not effective against mild illness caused by the variant discovered there. The country received its first one million doses of the vaccine at the end of January ahead of a planned rollout to frontline health workers from the middle of February. The plans have now been halted after preliminary research suggested the vaccine offers minimal protection against mild to moderate disease from the mutation.