CAPE TOWN, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The use of the single-dose Johnson and Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine meets the safety measures based on a clinical trial in South Africa, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) said on Wednesday.

       Led by SAMRC and conducted in collaboration with the National Department of Health, the trial, namely Sisonke study, aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of the J&J vaccine among 477,234 healthcare workers across all South African provinces who received the vaccine between Feb. 17 and May 17, 2021.

       To date, this is the largest safety analysis of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine from a low or middle-income country.

       The result supports the continued use of this vaccine in large COVID-19 vaccination rollout programs, SAMRC said in a statement.

       SAMRC said the occurrence of adverse events was low, of which about 81 percent were reactions commonly experienced after vaccination, such as pain, headache and fever, while serious adverse events are rare and account for 1.4 percent of all adverse events.

       The serious adverse event of blood clotting disorder appeared in two participants, and four participants had an allergic reaction to the vaccine, said the statement, adding that they all fully recovered.