I got my Covid vaccine yesterday

Today is the last day of the Sisonke trial of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and yesterday is the day that I got my vaccination as part of the trial. Over the past couple of months we’ve been coordinating the vaccinations of our students, clinical supervisors, and patient- and student-facing lecturers, as part of a phased approach to providing coverage to everyone who is at increased risk of infection. It’s also part of our national preparation for the probable third wave, expected to arrive this winter.

The Sisonke Programme is a collaboration between the National Department of Health, South African Medical Research Council, Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, CAPRISA, Janssen and Johnson & Johnson. It allows the government to make the Ad26.COV2.S COVID-19 vaccine (JnJ vaccine) immediately available to healthcare workers using a research programme. Sisonke is not the same as a clinical trial. Rather it is a way that research can help to make a vaccine available while the licensing process takes place. The South African government has chosen to move ahead with this programme because it would be unethical to withhold a vaccine known to be safe and effective.