The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority simply won’t approve a vaccine or any other treatment without all of the data being made available, providing the safety testing was rigorous.

This might change in the future if the governments behind these vaccines comply, but South Africa will not compromise on these processes.

There is even precedent for this with the Virodene drug in the 90’s. SAHRPA would not allow human trials due to ethical concerns.

While SA is in talks with Russia and China, their vaccines are unlikely to pass local muster. Refilwe speaks to Prof. Alex van den Heever