The country, which has been rigorously battling the second variant of the deadly Coronavirus, has over a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines already available but believes it may not be effective against the much malign variant.
To save cost and avoid wastage, the country is now considering going for vaccine by American multinational pharmaceutical company, Johnson & Johnson whose vaccine the company claimed is 66% effective against COVID-19 in a large global trial against multiple variants including variant in the zulus' nation.
"There are already some countries that are asking that we must sell it to them," South Africa's Health Minister Zweli Mkhize told a news conference on Wednesday.
"Our scientists will continue with further deliberations on the AstraZeneca vaccine used in South Africa and depending on their advice, the vaccine will be swapped before the expiry date."
The WHO's vaccine experts came out later on Wednesday evening to say that even countries with the South African variant of coronavirus should try the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Mr Mkhize, who had said he was yet to inform WHO about the country's plan, is yet to comment after WHO's announcement.
Researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and the UK's Oxford University carried out the trial on around 2,000 healthy, young people with an average age of 31.
It has not yet been published or peer reviewed but a press release and a PowerPoint presentation were put together.
They found that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine offered "minimal protection" against mild and moderate cases of the South Africa variant of coronavirus in that low-risk group.
They found that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine offered "minimal protection" against mild and moderate cases of the South Africa variant of coronavirus in that low-risk group.
Aside vaccines from Johnson & Johnson, the country is also considering vaccines from other manufactures, including the makers of Sputnik V, Sinovac and Moderna.
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