UPDATE 2-S.Africa to start vaccinating millions against local COVID-19 variant -Ramaphosa

* J&J, Pfizer vaccines to be used against 501Y.V2 variant

* S.Africa's second wave has deepened economic woes

* Recovery plan to focus on building ports, power stations

* Solar and wind energy bids will tackle power shortages

*(Adds details from state of the nation speech, edits)

By Wendell Roelf

CAPE TOWN, Feb 11 (Reuters) - South Africa has securedmillions of doses of Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Incvaccines to fight the highly infectious COVID-19 variantthat is dominant in the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa saidon Thursday.

During a televised annual state of the nation address,Ramaphosa said South Africa had secured 9 million doses of theJ&J vaccine, with 500,000 expected to arrive over the next fourweeks so authorities can start inoculating health workers.Another 20 million doses of the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTechwere also on their way, he said.

South Africa has been hit hard by a second wave of COVID-19,after the discovery of a new variant in the Eastern Cape, called501Y.V2, believed to be 50% more contagious than earlierversions of the coronavirus.

It has already spread to two dozen other countries.

"Driven by a new variant of the virus, this second wave wasmore severe and cost many more lives than the first wave,"Ramaphosa said. "We must undertake a massive vaccinationprogramme to save lives and dramatically reduce infections."

In addition, the COVAX facility co-led by the World HealthOrganization will provide 12 million vaccine doses, he said.

COVID-19 has claimed more than 47,000 lives and infectednearly 1.5 million in South Africa since the pandemic began.

Ramaphosa said the economy had shrunk by 6% between thethird quarter of 2019 and that of 2020, while unemployment "nowstands at a staggering 30.8%," after 1.7 million jobs were lost.

South Africa had been pinning its hopes on the cheaperAstraZeneca vaccine. Emerging scientific evidence thatit is less effective against the local virus variant than othervaccines led it to switch.

South Africa's health minister on Wednesday suggested thegovernment may sell doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine itmay not need or swap them others.

"While it should not delay the start of the vaccinationprogramme by much, it will affect the choice of vaccines and themanner of their deployment," Ramaphosa said, referring to theswitch away from the AstraZeneca shot.

The J&J vaccine requires just one shot, while thePfizer/BioNTech option is a two-dose regimen.

REVIVING A RUINED ECONOMY

Ramaphosa outlined a plan to revive Africa's mostindustrialised economy, with a massive programme of building orrevamping ports, container terminals, energy generation andtransmission, water, transport and telecoms.

He also outlined plans to tackle South Africa's dire energyshortages - which had plunged the economy into recession beforethe pandemic - by greatly expanding capacity, especially inrenewable power.

It was unclear how the government would fund the ambitiousplans.

South Africa is deeply in debt, and the Treasury expects abudget deficit of 15% of gross domestic product (GDP) in thefinancial year ending March 2021. Ratings downgrades by Moody'sand Fitch late last year, putting its debt deeper into junk,will drive up borrowing costs.

The government will seek bids for 2600 megawatts (MW) ofsolar and wind power to plug generation shortfall estimated bypower utility Eskom in the coming weeks, he said.

Another round of bids will be invited in August 2021, hesaid, adding that this will be over and above the powerprocurement plans already announced.

Due to its reliance on coal power, South Africa is one ofthe world's major CO2 emitters. Critics say it has been slow totransition to renewable energy, despite huge interest fromforeign providers.

"Eskom, our largest greenhouse gas emitter, has committed inprinciple to net zero emission by 2050," Ramaphosa said.

(Additional reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Tanisha Heibergin Johannesburg; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Bill Berkrot)