x

COVID-19: One Third Of Africa Will Be Vaccinated This Year – WHO

Africa can expect to see at least 30 percent of its population immunised against coronavirus by the end of 2021, the World Health Organization said Thursday, as vaccines begin trickling into the continent.

It is estimated Africa will need 1.5 billion vaccine doses to immunise 60 percent of its 1.3 billion inhabitants, the threshold for herd immunity against Covid-19.

But the continent has fallen behind in the global vaccine scramble, as wealthier nations have been accused of bulk-buying excess doses directly from manufacturers.

Most African countries are relying on the World Health Organization (WHO) and the African Union (AU) to shoulder at least part of their innoculation campaigns — providing vaccines and helping to finance their roll out.

WHO Africa’s immunisation coordinator Richard Mihigo said the WHO-backed Covax vaccine sharing facility and the AU’s African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) would jointly deliver enough doses to vaccinate between 30 to 35 percent of the continent’s population this year.

“Given the latest developments within the Covax facility, there is a very good prospect that the objective to supply 600 million doses by the end of 2021 will definitely be reached,” Mihigo told a virtual press briefing.

The Covax vaccines will cover at least 20 percent of the population, with the rest “complemented” by AVATT, he added.

While the AU has so far secured 270 million doses through AVATT, Mihigo warned “some of those may not become available soon” and that the initiative could “realistically” only expect to reach between 10 and 15 percent of the continent in 2021.

The bulk of Covax and AVATT provisions will be shots of Oxford/AstraZeneca’s vaccine, followed by a few million Pfizer-BioNTech jabs.

Mihigo said the WHO was exploring “additional candidates”, with particularly high hopes for Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine.

So far only a small handful of African countries have started vaccinating their populations, including Guinea, Mauritius and the Seychelles.

Morocco is expected to begin administering the shots this week, while South Africa announced on Wednesday that a first batch of 1.5 million AstraZeneca vaccines would arrive on February 1.

Mihigo said the first Covax doses were likely to reach the continent by mid-February, and that “by March we will definitely see most of the countries start vaccinating”.

“It is a slow start but we are expecting that in the coming months things are going to ramp up.”

To date Africa has recorded close to 3.5 million coronavirus cases and 88,000 deaths, according to a tally compiled by AFP.

A new virus variant first detected in South Africa that is thought to be more contagious has cropped up in at least six African countries and 24 worldwide, according to the WHO.

Hot this week

Editors Urge Government To Create Safe, Enabling Environment For Journalists

· Ask security agents to find missing Vanguard journalist As...

EXCLUSIVE: Buhari orders probe of Isa Funtua, AMCON over keystone and Etisalat

Following the controversy generated by the leading opposition party,...

6 Signs your boyfriend thinks you are ugly -Take note of No. 2

They say there are three kinds of people; the...

2023: South-East, Middle Belt Forum Endorses Peter Obi

The South-East and Middle Belt Forum has endorsed the...

Retired Police Officers Set for Nationwide Protest Over Pension Scheme

By Idibia Gabriel, Kaduna The Kaduna State chapter of the...

NUJ Info Chapel Hosts Workshop, Hails Commissioner, Council Leadership

By Amgbare Ekaunkumo, Yenagoa The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information,...

Tinubu Appoints Ismael Ahmed as Executive Chairman of Presidential CNG Initiative

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Barrister Ismael Ahmed...

Alleged ₦80.2bn Fraud: EFCC Kicks as Yahaya Bello Seeks Medical Travel Abroad

By Gabriel Udeh The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,...

Why we’re raising concerns over alleged contract scam at NNPCL – Coalition

President Bola Tinubu has been asked to terminate the...

Tinubu Assures Abuja Residents, No More ” One Chance” Attacks

By Joyce Remi-Babayeju President Bola Tinubu has assured Abuja residents...

INEC Sets August 16 for Bye-Elections in 12 States, Resumes Voter Registration

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced August...

Tinubu Hosts Fubara, Wike, Rivers Lawmakers in Fresh Push for Peace

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday convened a closed-door meeting...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img