Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina lead launch of of Oral Cholera Vaccine Clinical Trials

Image: Dept. of Home Affairs

South Africa will soon manufacture its first vaccine from scratch in over 50 years. The Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, together with Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Nomalungelo Gina, will lead the official launch of a historic milestone in South Africa’s scientific and health innovation journey, the commencement of clinical trials for Biovac’s Oral Cholera Vaccine, the first vaccine manufactured entirely in South Africa in over 50 years. the historic.

This milestone represents a significant step in advancing Africa’s vaccine self-reliance and strengthening South Africa’s capacity to respond to infectious diseases through local innovation and manufacturing.

This initiative will launch Phase 1 of the vaccine assessment to determine whether the vaccine can prevent cholera infection. The clinical trials, coordinated by the South African Medical Research Council, also highlight South Africa’s ability to conduct such trials for multiple types of products.

Although Cholera is not endemic in South Africa, but the country occasionally experiences sporadic cholera outbreaks triggered by imported cases of this preventable disease from neighbouring countries.

Minister Motsoaledi and Deputy Minister Gina, will be joined by the provincial government authorities and senior officials from SA Medical Research Council and Biovac, which is in partnership with international Vaccine Institute to develop and manufacture an oral cholera vaccine for African and global markets.