South African regulator rejects Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine

By MARIA CHENG and MOGOMOTSI MAGOME
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The South African drug regulator has rejected the Russian-made coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, citing some safety concerns the manufacturer wasn’t able to answer. The country’s regulator said in a statement Tuesday that the request for Sputnik V to be authorized could “not be approved at this time” and pointed to past failed HIV vaccines that used a similar technology as the Russian vaccine. Those studies suggested men who got the experimental shots had a higher risk of HIV. Other experts described the South African decision as “strange” and said the technology used in the vaccine was unlikely to cause higher rates of HIV.