Sisonke Vaccine FAQs : sisonkestudy.samrc.ac.za

Organization Name : Department of Health
Facility Name : Sisonke Vaccine FAQs
Applicable For : Health Care Workers
Website : http://sisonkestudy.samrc.ac.za/

Sisonke Vaccine FAQs

1. How is the Sisonke rollout going to work?
** The South African government has secured half a million doses of the vaccine from JnJ, enough to vaccinate half a million health workers.
** The first batch of 80,000 doses arrived on the 16th of February and further deliveries will follow every two weeks.

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** Vaccines will be available at 17 hospitals throughout the country where teams of researchers and vaccinators will work together to deliver the vaccine to health workers up to 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.

** Research staff will be responsible for ensuring the cold chain and drawing up the correct amount of vaccine. Vaccinators will complete assessment checks, administer the vaccine and monitor you for a few minutes.

** The first step to accessing a vaccine is to register on the country’s Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS). You can access the system by visiting this website: https://vaccine.enroll.health.gov.za

2. How does the JnJ vaccine compare with other COVID-19 vaccines?
Like all COVID-19 vaccines, the JnJ vaccine contains instructions for the spike protein on the coronavirus. These instructions are delivered to our immune system by a modified adenovirus that has also been used in other vaccines, such as the Ebola and Zika vaccines.

The adenovirus is safe to use in vaccines as it has been modified so that it cannot cause disease or replicate in humans.

Nonactive ingredients in the JnJ vaccine include sodium chloride, citric acid monohydrate buffer, polysorbate 80, 2 hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin (HBCD), ethanol (absolute), sodium hydroxide and water for injection. All of these ingredients are safe for human consumption. The vaccine does not contain any animal products and is halal.

3. How does the vaccine protect you against COVID-19?
When injected, the vaccine trains your immune system to fight the virus that causes COVID-19. The vaccine does not contain the coronavirus and will not give you COVID-19.

People often develop some mild side-effects like tenderness at the infection site, feeling unwell, feverish and a headache for a few days. These are positive signs that the body is mounting an immune response to the coronavirus.

The technical term for this is ‘reactogenicity’. When you encounter real coronavirus particles in future, your immune system will be able to disarm the virus so that you either do not fall ill at all, or if you do, the symptoms are mild and your chances of being hospitalised or dying are much lower.

4. How is the JnJ vaccine stored?
The vaccine has a long shelf life of 2 years at -20 degrees Celsius and can be safely stored in a domestic fridge for 1 month. This makes it suitable for widespread rollout in warmer countries like South Africa as ultra-cold freezers are not needed.

5. How is the vaccine given and when does protection start?
The JnJ vaccine is given as a single dose into the upper arm. Protection starts around 10-14 days after vaccination, and even as early as 7 days for severe disease. Protection rises to good levels around a month after vaccination.

The JnJ vaccine is the only COVID-19 vaccine currently available that only uses a single dose. Other COVID-19 vaccines currently require two doses. No vaccine provides 100% protection.

The JnJ vaccine is thought to provide 57% protection against moderate-severe disease, 85% protection against severe disease, and 100% protection against death. We are still waiting for further results on how effective the vaccine is at preventing asymptomatic transmission.

It is important you continue to use masks, practise social distancing and good hand hygiene. If you are a healthcare worker, you still need to wear your PPE and stay vigilant, even after you are vaccinated.